The success of American Idol has been described as "unparalleled in broadcasting history".[5] The series was also said by a rival TV executive to be "the most impactful show in the history of television".[6] It became a recognized springboard for launching the career of many artists as bona fide stars. According to Billboard magazine, in its first ten years, "Idol has spawned 345 Billboard chart-toppers and a platoon of pop idols, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Katharine McPhee, Chris Daughtry, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Adam Lambert and Jordin Sparks while remaining a TV ratings juggernaut."[7]

American Idol was based on the British show Pop Idol created by Simon Fuller, which was in turn inspired by the New Zealand television singing competition Popstars. Television producer Nigel Lythgoe saw a version in Australia and helped bring it over to Britain.[9] Fuller was inspired by the idea from Popstars of employing a panel of judges to select singers in audition. He then added other elements, including telephone voting by the viewing public (which, at the time, was already in use in shows, such as the Eurovision Song Contest), the drama of backstories, and real-life soap opera unfolding in real time.[10] The show debuted in Britain in 2001 with Lythgoe as showrunner‍—‌the executive producer and production leader‍—‌and Simon Cowell as one of the judges, and was successful with the viewing public.[11]

In 2001, Fuller, Cowell, and TV producer Simon Jones attempted to sell the Pop Idol format to the United States, but the idea was initially met with poor responses from the Fox television network.[12] However, Rupert Murdoch, head of Fox's parent company, was later persuaded to buy the series by his daughter, Elisabeth, who was a fan of the British show.[12] The show was renamed American Idol: The Search for a Superstar and debuted in the summer of 2002. Cowell was initially offered the job of showrunner, but turned down the offer; Lythgoe then took over that position. Much to Cowell's surprise, it became one of the biggest shows of the summer.[13][14] The show grew into a phenomenon largely due to its personal engagement of the contestants, thereby prompting viewers to vote, and the presence of the acid-tongued Cowell as a judge. By 2004, it had become the most-watched show on U.S. television, a position it then held for seven consecutive seasons.[15] However, after a few years of sharp declining ratings, the network announced that the fifteenth season would be its last, ending its run in April 2016.[16] In May 2017, however, ABC acquired the rights to the series and announced that the program would return for the 2017–18 television season.[3][17]

The show had originally planned on having four judges following the Pop Idol format; however, only three judges had been found by the time of the audition round in the first season, namely Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.[12] A fourth judge, radio DJ Stryker, was originally chosen but he dropped out citing "image concerns".[18] In the second season, New York radio personality Angie Martinez had been hired as a fourth judge but withdrew only after a few days of auditions due to not being comfortable with giving out criticism.[19] The show decided to continue with the three judges format until season eight. All three original judges stayed on the judging panel for eight seasons.

In season eight, Latin Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi was added as a fourth judge. She stayed for two seasons and left the show before season ten.[20] Paula Abdul left the show before season nine after failing to agree terms with the show producers.[21]Emmy Award-winning talk show host Ellen DeGeneres replaced Paula Abdul for that season, but left after just one season.[22] On January 11, 2010, Simon Cowell announced that he was leaving the show to pursue introducing the American version of his show The X Factor to the USA for 2011.[23]

Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler joined the judging panel in season ten,[24] but both left after two seasons.[25] They were replaced by three new judges, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban, who joined Randy Jackson in season 12.[26] However both Carey and Minaj left after one season,[27] and Randy Jackson also announced that he would depart the show after twelve seasons as a judge but would return as a mentor.[28][29] Urban was the only judge from season 12 to return in season 13. He was joined by previous judge Jennifer Lopez and former mentor Harry Connick, Jr.[4] Lopez, Urban and Connick, Jr. all returned as judges for the show's fourteenth and fifteenth seasons.[30][31]

On May 16, 2017, it was announced that Katy Perry was the first to be chosen as a judge for the revival series.[32] On September 24, 2017, country singer Luke Bryan was announced as the second judge to take the panel.[33] On September 29, 2017, it was announced that Lionel Richie would be taking the third and final seat on the judges panel.[34]

The first season was co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman following the format of Pop Idol of using two presenters. Dunkleman quit thereafter,[35] making Seacrest the sole emcee of the show starting with season two. Dunkleman did, however, return in the series finale. Seacrest will also be returning for Season 16.[36]

The eligible age-range for contestants was fifteen to twenty-eight years old. The initial age limit was sixteen to twenty-four in the first three seasons, but the upper limit was raised to twenty-eight in season four, and the lower limit was reduced to fifteen in season ten. The contestants had to be legal U.S. residents, could not have advanced to particular stages of the competition in previous seasons, and must not have held a current recording or talent representation contract by the semi-final stage[37] (in previous years by the audition stage).[38]

Contestants went through at least three sets of cuts. The first was a brief audition with a few other contestants in front of selectors which may include one of the show's producers. Although auditions can exceed 10,000 in each city, only a few hundred of these made it past the preliminary round of auditions. Successful contestants then sang in front of producers, where more may be cut. Only then can they proceed to audition in front of the judges, which is the only audition stage shown on television.[39] Those selected by the judges are sent to Hollywood. Between 10–60 people in each city may make it to Hollywood[citation needed].

Once in Hollywood, the contestants performed individually or in groups in a series of rounds. Until season ten, there were usually three rounds of eliminations in Hollywood. In the first round the contestants emerged in groups but performed individually. For the next round, the contestants put themselves in small groups and performed a song together. In the final round, the contestants performed solo with a song of their choice a cappella or accompanied by a band‍—‌depending on the season. In seasons two and three, contestants were also asked to write original lyrics or melody in an additional round after the first round. In season seven, the group round was eliminated and contestants may, after a first solo performance and on judges approval, skip a second solo round and move directly to the final Hollywood round. In season twelve, the executive producers split up the females and males and chose the members to form the groups in the group round.

In seasons ten and eleven, a further round was added in Las Vegas, where the contestants performed in groups based on a theme, followed by one final solo round to determine the semi-finalists. At the end of this stage of the competition, 24 to 36 contestants were selected to move on to the semi-final stage. In season twelve the Las Vegas round became a Sudden Death round, where the judges had to choose five guys and five girls each night (four nights) to make the top twenty. In season thirteen, a new round called "Hollywood or Home" was added, where if the judges were uncertain about some contestants, those contestants were required to perform soon after landing in Los Angeles, and those who failed to impress were sent back home before they reached Hollywood.

From the semi-finals onward, the fate of the contestants was decided by public vote. During the contestant's performance as well as the recap at the end, a toll-free telephone number for each contestant was displayed on the screen. For a two-hour period after the episode ends (up to four hours for the finale) in each US time zone, viewers may call or send a text message to their preferred contestant's telephone number, and each call or text message was registered as a vote for that contestant. Viewers were allowed to vote as many times as they can within the two-hour voting window. However, the show reserves the right to discard votes by power dialers.[40] One or more of the least popular contestants may be eliminated in successive weeks until a winner emerges. Over 110 million votes were cast in the first season, and by season ten the seasonal total had increased to nearly 750 million. Voting via text messaging was made available in the second season when AT&T Wireless joined as a sponsor of the show, and 7.5 million text messages were sent to American Idol that season.[41] The number of text messages rapidly increased, reaching 178 million texts by season eight.[42] Online voting was offered for the first time in season ten. The votes are counted and verified by Telescope Inc.[43]

In the first three seasons, the semi-finalists were split into different groups to perform individually in their respective night. In season one, there were three groups of ten, with the top three contestants from each group making the finals. In seasons two and three, there were four groups of eight, and the top two of each selected. These seasons also featured a wildcard round, where contestants who failed to qualify were given another chance. In season one, only one wildcard contestant was chosen by the judges, giving a total of ten finalists. In seasons two and three, each of the three judges championed one contestant with the public advancing a fourth into the finals, making 12 finalists in all.

From seasons four to seven and nine, the twenty-four semi-finalists were divided by gender in order to ensure an equal gender division in the top twelve. The men and women sang separately on consecutive nights, and the bottom two in each groups were eliminated each week until only six of each remained to form the top twelve.

The wildcard round returned in season eight, wherein there were three groups of twelve, with three contestants moving forward – the highest male, the highest female, and the next highest-placed singer – for each night, and four wildcards were chosen by the judges to produce a final 13. Starting season ten, the girls and boys perform on separate nights. In seasons ten and eleven, five of each gender were chosen, and three wildcards were chosen by the judges to form a final 13. In season twelve, the top twenty semifinalists were split into gender groups, with five of each gender advancing to form the final 10. In season thirteen, there were thirty semifinalists, but only twenty semifinalists (ten for each gender) were chosen by the judges to perform on the live shows, with five in each gender based on the vote, and three wildcards chosen by the judges composing the final 13. In season fourteen, the top 24 performed at The Fillmore Detroit, starting with the 12 males on one night and then the 12 females on the next night. The following week, the same order went for the top 16, with four males eliminated, followed by four females based on the vote. Then, on the first night of finals, a similar sequence from the thirteenth season was used to determine the final 12, with five of each gender based on the vote and two wildcards chosen by the judges.

The finals were broadcast in prime time from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, in front of a live studio audience. The finals lasted eight weeks in season one, eleven weeks in subsequent seasons until seasons ten and eleven which lasted twelve weeks except for season twelve, which lasted ten weeks, and season thirteen, which lasted for thirteen weeks. Each finalist performed songs based on a weekly theme which may be a musical genre such as Motown, disco, or big band, songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley or The Beatles, or more general themes such as Billboard Number 1 hits or songs from the contestant's year of birth. Contestants usually worked with a celebrity mentor related to the theme. In season ten, Jimmy Iovine was brought in as a mentor for the season. Initially the contestants sang one song each week, but this was increased to two songs from top four or five onwards, then three songs for the top two or three.

The most popular contestants were usually not revealed in the results show. Instead, typically the three contestants (two in later rounds) who received the lowest number of votes was called to the center of the stage. One of these three was usually sent to safety; however the two remaining were not necessarily the bottom two.[44] The contestant with the fewest votes was then revealed and eliminated from the competition. A montage of the eliminated contestant's time on the show was played and they gave their final performance. However, in season six, during the series' first ever Idol Gives Back episode, no contestant was eliminated, but on the following week, two were sent home. Moreover, starting in season eight, the judges may overturn viewers' decision with a "Judges' Save" if they unanimously agreed to. "The save" could only be used once, and only up through the top five. In the eighth, ninth, tenth, and fourteenth seasons, a double elimination then took place in the week following the activation of the save, but in the eleventh and thirteenth seasons, a regular single elimination took place. The save was not activated in the twelfth season and consequently, a non-elimination took place in the week after its expiration with the votes then carrying over into the following week.

The "Fan Save" was introduced in the fourteenth season. During the finals, viewers were given a five-minute window to vote for the contestants in danger of elimination by using their Twitter account to decide which contestant will move on to the next show, starting with the Top 8.

The finale was the two-hour last episode of the season, culminating in revealing the winner. For seasons one, three through six, fourteen, and fifteen it was broadcast from the Dolby Theatre, which has an audience capacity of approximately 3,400. The finale for season two took place at the Gibson Amphitheatre, which has an audience capacity of over 6,000. In seasons seven through thirteen, the venue was at the Nokia Theater, which holds an audience of over 7,000.

The winner received a record deal with a major label, which may be for up to six albums,[45][46] and secures a management contract with American Idol-affiliated 19 Management (which has the right of first refusal to sign all contestants), as well as various lucrative contracts. All winners prior to season nine reportedly earned at least $1 million in their first year as winner.[46] All the runners-up of the first ten seasons, as well as some of other finalists, had also received record deals with major labels. However, starting in season 11, the runner-up may only be guaranteed a single-only deal.[47]BMG/Sony (seasons 1–9) and UMG (season 10–15) had the right of first refusal to sign contestants for three months after the season's finale. Starting in the fourteenth season, the winner was signed with Big Machine Records. Prominent music mogul Clive Davis also produced some of the selected contestants' albums, such as Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo. All top 10 (11 in seasons 10 and 12) finalists earn the privilege of going on a tour, where the participants may each earn a six-figure sum.[48]

Each season premiered with the audition round, taking place in different cities. The audition episodes typically feature a mix of potential finalists, interesting characters and woefully inadequate contestants. Each successful contestant received a golden ticket to proceed on to the next round in Hollywood. Based on their performances during the Hollywood round (Las Vegas round for seasons 10 onward), 24 to 36 contestants were selected by the judges to participate in the semifinals. From the semifinals onward the contestants performed their songs live, with the judges making their critiques after each performance. The contestants were voted for by the viewing public, and the outcome of the public votes was then revealed in the results show typically on the following night. The results shows featured group performances by the contestants as well as guest performers. The Top-three results show also featured the homecoming events for the Top 3 finalists. The season reaches its climax in a two-hour results finale show, where the winner of the season was revealed.

With the exception of seasons one and two, the contestants in the semifinals onward performed in front of a studio audience. They performed with a full band in the finals. From season four to season nine, and season thirteen onward, the American Idol band was led by Rickey Minor; from season ten to season twelve, Ray Chew. Assistance may also have been given by vocal coaches and song arrangers, such as Michael Orland and Debra Byrd to contestants behind the scene. Starting with season seven, contestants may perform with a musical instrument from the Hollywood rounds onward. In the first nine seasons, performances were usually aired live on Tuesday nights, followed by the results shows on Wednesdays in the United States and Canada, but moved to Wednesdays and Thursdays in season ten.

The first season of American Idol debuted as a summer replacement show in June 2002 on the Fox network. It was co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman.

In the audition rounds, 121 contestants were selected from around 10,000 who attended the auditions. These were cut to 30 for the semifinal, with ten going on to the finals. One semifinalist, Delano Cagnolatti, was disqualified for lying to evade the show's age limit. One of the early favorites, Tamyra Gray, was eliminated at the top four, the first of several such shock eliminations that were to be repeated in later seasons. Christina Christian was hospitalized before the top six result show due to chest pains and palpitations, and she was eliminated while she was in the hospital.[49]Jim Verraros was the first openly gay contestant on the show; his sexual orientation was revealed in his online journal, however it was removed during the competition after a request from the show producers over concerns that it might be unfairly influencing votes.[50]

In what was to become a tradition, Clarkson performed the coronation song during the finale, and released the song immediately after the season ended. The single, "A Moment Like This", went on to break a 38-year-old record held by The Beatles for the biggest leap to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Guarini did not release any song immediately after the show and remains the only runner-up not to do so. Both Clarkson and Guarini made a musical film, From Justin to Kelly, which was released in 2003 but was widely panned. Clarkson has since become the most successful Idol contestant internationally,[52] with worldwide album sales of more than 23 million.[53]

Starting September 30, 2006, this season was repackaged as "American Idol Rewind" and syndicated directly to stations in the U.S.

Following the success of season one, the second season was moved up to air in January 2003. The number of episodes increased, as did the show's budget and the charge for commercial spots. Dunkleman left the show, leaving Seacrest as the lone host. Kristin Adams was a correspondent for this season.[54]

Corey Clark was disqualified during the finals for having an undisclosed police record; however, he later alleged that he and Paula Abdul had an affair while on the show and that this contributed to his expulsion. Clark also claimed that Abdul gave him preferential treatment on the show due to their affair. The allegations were dismissed by Fox after an independent investigation.[55] Two semi-finalists were also disqualified that year – Jaered Andrews for an arrest on an assault charge, and Frenchie Davis for having previously modelled for an adult website.[56]

Ruben Studdard emerged as the winner, beating Clay Aiken by a small margin. Out of a total of 24 million votes, Studdard finished just 134,000 votes ahead of Aiken. This slim margin of victory was controversial due to the large number of calls that failed to get through.[57] In an interview prior to season five, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe indicated that Aiken had led the fan voting from the wildcard week onward until the finale.[58]

Both finalists found success after the show, but Aiken out-performed Studdard's coronation song "Flying Without Wings" with his single release from the show "This Is the Night", as well as in their subsequent album releases. The fourth-place finisher Josh Gracin also enjoyed some success as a country singer.[59]

Season three premiered on January 19, 2004. One of the most talked-about contestants during the audition process was William Hung whose off-key rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" received widespread attention. His exposure on Idol landed him a record deal and surprisingly he became the third best-selling singer from that season.[60]

Much media attention on the season had been focused on the three black singers, Fantasia Barrino, LaToya London, and Jennifer Hudson, dubbed the Three Divas. All three unexpectedly landed on the bottom three on the top seven result show, with Hudson controversially eliminated.[61] Elton John, who was one of the mentors that season, called the results of the votes "incredibly racist".[62] The prolonged stays of John Stevens and Jasmine Trias in the finals, despite negative comments from the judges, had aroused resentment, so much so that John Stevens reportedly received a death threat, which he dismissed as a joke 'blown out of proportion'.[63]

The performance of "Summertime" by Barrino, later known simply as "Fantasia", at Top 8 was widely praised, and Simon Cowell considered it as his favorite Idol moment in the nine seasons he was on the show.[64] Fantasia and Diana DeGarmo were the last two finalists, and Fantasia was crowned as the winner. Fantasia released as her coronation single "I Believe", a song co-written by season one finalist Tamyra Gray, and DeGarmo released "Dreams".

Season four premiered on January 18, 2005; this was the first season of the series to be aired in high definition, although the finale of season three was also aired in high definition. The number of those attending the auditions by now had increased to over 100,000 from the 10,000 of the first season. The age limit was raised to 28 in this season,[38] and among those who benefited from this new rule were Constantine Maroulis and Bo Bice, the two rockers of the show.

The top 12 finalists originally included Mario Vazquez, but he dropped out citing 'personal reasons'[65] and was replaced by Nikko Smith. Later, an employee of Freemantle Media, which produces the show, sued the company for wrongful termination, claiming that he was dismissed after complaining about lewd behavior by Vazquez toward him during the show.[66]

During the top 11 week, due to a mix-up with the contestants' telephone number, voting was repeated on what was normally the result night, with the result reveal postponed until the following night.

In May 2005, Carrie Underwood was announced the winner, with Bice the runner-up. Both Underwood and Bice released the coronation song "Inside Your Heaven", with Underwood's version of the song making her the first country artist ever to debut at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[67] As of 2015, Underwood has become the most successful Idol contestant in the U.S.,[52] selling 16 million albums in the country,[68] while selling a total of 65 million records worldwide.[69]

Season five began on January 17, 2006. It remains the highest-rated season in the show's run so far. Two of the more prominent contestants during the Hollywood round were the Brittenum twins who were later disqualified for identity theft.[70]

Chris Daughtry's performance of Fuel's "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on the show was widely praised and led to an invitation to join the band as Fuel's new lead singer, an invitation he declined.[71] His performance of Live's version of "I Walk the Line" was well received by the judges but later criticized in some quarters for not crediting the arrangement to Live.[72] He was eliminated at the top four in a shocking result.

Season six began on Tuesday, January 16, 2007. The premiere drew a massive audience of 37.3 million viewers, peaking in the last half hour with more than 41 million viewers.[74]

Teenager Sanjaya Malakar was the season's most talked-about contestant for his unusual hairdo,[75] and for managing to survive elimination for many weeks due in part to the weblog Vote for the Worst and satellite radio personality Howard Stern, who both encouraged fans to vote for him. However, on April 18, Sanjaya was voted off.[76]

This season saw the first Idol Gives Back telethon-inspired event, which raised more than $76 million in corporate and viewer donations.[77] No contestant was eliminated that week, but two (Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson) were eliminated the next. Melinda Doolittle was eliminated in the final three.

In the May 23 season finale, Jordin Sparks was declared the winner with the runner-up being Blake Lewis. Sparks has had some success as a recording artist post-Idol.

This season also saw the launch of the American Idol Songwriter contest which allows fans to vote for the "coronation song". Thousands of recordings of original songs were submitted by songwriters, and 20 entries selected for the public vote. The winning song, "This Is My Now", was performed by both finalists during the finale and released by Sparks on May 24, 2007.[78]

Season seven premiered on January 15, 2008, for a two-day, four-hour premiere. The media focused on the professional status of the season seven contestants, the so-called 'ringers',[79] many of whom, including Kristy Lee Cook, Brooke White, Michael Johns, and in particular Carly Smithson, had prior recording contracts.[80] Contestant David Hernandez also attracted some attention due to his past employment as a stripper.[81]

For the finals, American Idol debuted a new state-of-the-art set and stage on March 11, 2008, along with a new on-air look. David Cook's performance of "Billie Jean" on top-ten night was lauded by the judges, but provoked controversy when they apparently mistook the Chris Cornell arrangement to be David Cook's own even though the performance was introduced as Cornell's version. Cornell himself said he was 'flattered' and praised David Cook's performance.[82] David Cook was taken to the hospital after the top-nine performance show due to heart palpitations and high blood pressure.[83]

David Archuleta's performance of John Lennon's "Imagine" was considered by many as one of the best of the season. Jennifer Lopez, who was brought in as a judge in season ten, called it a beautiful song-moment that she will never forget.[84]Jason Castro's semi-final performance of "Hallelujah" also received considerable attention, and it propelled Jeff Buckley's version of the song to the top of the Billboarddigital song chart.[85] This was the first season in which contestants' recordings were released onto iTunes after their performances, and although sales information was not released so as not to prejudice the contest, leaked information indicated that contestants' songs frequently reached the top of iTunes sales charts.[86]

Idol Gives Back returned on April 9, 2008, and raised $64 million for charity.[77]

The finalists were Cook and Archuleta. David Cook was announced the winner on May 21, 2008, the first rocker to win the show. Both Cook and Archuleta had some success as recording artists with both selling over a million albums in the U.S.[73]

The American Idol Songwriter contest was also held this season. From ten of the most popular submissions, each of the final two contestants chose a song to perform, although neither of their selections was used as the "coronation song". The winning song, "The Time of My Life", was recorded by David Cook and released on May 22, 2008.

Season eight premiered on January 13, 2009. Mike Darnell, the president of alternative programming for Fox, stated that the season would focus more on the contestants' personal life.[87]

In the first major change to the judging panel, a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi, was introduced. This was also the first season without executive producer Nigel Lythgoe who left to focus on the international versions of his show So You Think You Can Dance.[88] The Hollywood round was moved to the Kodak Theatre for 2009 and was also extended to two weeks. Idol Gives Back was canceled for this season due to the global recession at the time.

There were 13 finalists this season, but two were eliminated in the first result show of the finals. A new feature introduced was the "Judges' Save", and Matt Giraud was saved from elimination at the top seven by the judges when he received the fewest votes. The next week, Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai were eliminated.

The two finalists were Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, both of whom had previously landed in the bottom three at the top five. Allen won the contest in the most controversial voting result since season two. It was claimed,[89] and then later retracted,[90] that 38 million of the 100 million votes cast on the night came from Allen's home state of Arkansas alone, and that AT&T employees unfairly influenced the votes by giving lessons on power-texting at viewing parties in Arkansas.[91]

Both Allen and Lambert released the coronation song, "No Boundaries" which was co-written by DioGuardi. This is the first season in which the winner failed to achieve gold album status.[92]

Crystal Bowersox, who has Type-I diabetes, fell ill due to diabetic ketoacidosis on the morning of the girls performance night for the top 20 week and was hospitalized.[94] The schedule was rearranged so the boys performed first and she could perform the following night instead; she later revealed that Ken Warwick, the show producer, wanted to disqualify her but she begged to be allowed to stay on the show.[94]

Michael Lynche was the lowest vote getter at top nine and was given the Judges' Save. The next week Katie Stevens and Andrew Garcia were eliminated. That week, Adam Lambert was invited back to be a mentor, the first Idol alum to do so. Idol Gives Back returned this season on April 21, 2010, and raised $45 million.[77]

A special tribute to Simon Cowell was presented in the finale for his final season with the show. Many figures from the show's past, including Paula Abdul, made an appearance.

The final two contestants were Lee DeWyze and Bowersox. DeWyze was declared the winner during the May 26 finale. No new song was used as coronation song this year; instead, the two finalists each released a cover song – DeWyze chose U2's "Beautiful Day", and Bowersox chose Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain". This is the first season where neither finalist achieved significant album sales.[95]

Season ten of the series premiered on January 19, 2011. Many changes were introduced this season, from the format to the personnel of the show. Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler joined Randy Jackson as judges following the departures of Simon Cowell (who left to launch the U.S. version of The X Factor), Kara DioGuardi (whose contract was not renewed) and Ellen DeGeneres,[24] while Nigel Lythgoe returned as executive producer. Jimmy Iovine, chairman of the Interscope Geffen A&M label group, the new partner of American Idol, acted as the in-house mentor in place of weekly guest mentors,[24] although in later episodes special guest mentors such as Beyoncé, will.i.am and Lady Gaga were brought in.

Season ten is the first to include online auditions where contestants could submit a 40-second video audition via Myspace.[96]Karen Rodriguez was one such auditioner and reached the final rounds.

One of the more prominent contestants this year was Chris Medina, whose story of caring for his brain-damaged fiancée received widespread coverage.[97] Medina was cut in the Top 40 round. Casey Abrams, who suffers from ulcerative colitis, was hospitalized twice and missed the Top 13 result show. The judges used their one save on Abrams on the Top 11, and as a result this was the first season that 11 finalists went on tour instead of 10. In the following week, Naima Adedapo and Thia Megia were both eliminated the following week.

Pia Toscano, one of the presumed favorites to advance far in the season, was unexpectedly eliminated on April 7, 2011, finishing in ninth place. Her elimination drew criticisms from some former Idol contestants, as well as actor Tom Hanks.[98]

The two finalists in 2011 were Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery, both teenage country singers. McCreery won the competition on May 25, being the youngest male winner and the fourth male in a row to win American Idol. McCreery released his first single, "I Love You This Big", as his coronation song, and Alaina released "Like My Mother Does". McCreery's debut album, Clear as Day, became the first debut album by an Idol winner to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 since Ruben Studdard's Soulful in 2003, and he became the youngest male artist to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200.[99]

Season 11 premiered on January 18, 2012. On February 23, it was announced that one more finalist would join the Top 24 making it the Top 25, and that was Jermaine Jones. However, on March 14, Jones was disqualified in 12th place for concealing arrests and outstanding warrants. Jones denied the accusation that he concealed his arrests.[100]

Finalist Phillip Phillips suffered from kidney pain and was taken to the hospital before the Top 13 results show, and later received medical procedure to alleviate a blockage caused by kidney stones.[101] He was reported to have eight surgeries during his Idol run, and had considered quitting the show due to the pain.[102] He underwent surgery to remove the stones and reconstruct his kidney soon after the season had finished.[103]

Jessica Sanchez received the fewest number of votes during the Top 7 week, and the judges decided to use their "save" option on her, making her the first female recipient of the save. The following week, unlike previous seasons, Colton Dixon was the only contestant sent home. Sanchez later made the final two, the first season where a recipient of the save reached the finale.

Phillips became the winner, beating Sanchez. Prior to the announcement of the winner, season five finalist Ace Young proposed marriage to season three runner-up Diana DeGarmo on stage – which she accepted.

Phillips released "Home" as his coronation song, while Sanchez released "Change Nothing". Phillips' "Home" has since become the best selling of all coronation songs.[104]

Season 12 premiered on January 16, 2013. Judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler left the show after two seasons. This season's judging panel consisted of Randy Jackson, along with Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj. This was the first season since season nine to have four judges on the panel. The pre-season buzz and the early episodes of the show were dominated by the feud between the judges Minaj and Carey after a video of their dispute was leaked to TMZ.[105]

The top 10 contestants started with five males and five females, however, the males were eliminated consecutively in the first five weeks, with Lazaro Arbos the last male to be eliminated. For the first time in the show's history, the top 5 contestants were all female. It was also the first time that the judges' "save" was not used, the top four contestants were therefore given an extra week to perform again with their votes carried over with no elimination in the first week.

23-year-old Candice Glover won the season with Kree Harrison taking the runner-up spot. Glover is the first female to win American Idol since Jordin Sparks. She was also the final female to win the series. Glover released "I Am Beautiful" as a single while Harrison released "All Cried Out" immediately after the show. Glover sold poorly with her debut album, and this is also the first season that the runner-up was not signed by a music label.[106]

Towards the end of the season, Randy Jackson, the last remaining of the original judges, announced that he would no longer serve as a judge to pursue other business ventures.[28] Both judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj also decided to leave after one season to focus on their music careers.[27]

The thirteenth season premiered on January 15, 2014. Randy Jackson and Keith Urban returned, though Jackson moved from the judging panel to the role of in-mentor. Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj left the panel after one season. Former judge Jennifer Lopez and former mentor Harry Connick, Jr. joined Urban on the panel. Also, Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick were replaced as executive producers by Per Blankens, Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Pragger. Bill DeRonde replaced Warwick as a director of the audition episodes, while Louis J. Horvitz replaced Gregg Gelfand as a director of the show.[107]

This was the first season where the contestants were permitted to perform in the final rounds songs they wrote themselves. In the Top 8, Sam Woolf received the fewest votes, but he was saved from elimination by the judges. The 500th episode of the series was the Top 3 performance night.[108]

The fourteenth season premiered on January 7, 2015. Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr. returned for their respective fourth, third and second seasons as judges. Eighth season runner-up Adam Lambert filled in for Urban during the New York City auditions. Randy Jackson did not return as the in-house mentor for this season.[111]

Changes this season include only airing one episode a week during the final ten.[112] Coca-Cola ended their longtime sponsorship of the show[113] and Ford Motor Company maintained a reduced role. The winner of the season also received a recording contract with Big Machine Records.

Nick Fradiani won the season, defeating Clark Beckham. By winning, Fradiani became the first winner from the Northeast region. Fradiani released "Beautiful Life" as his coronation single while Beckham released "Champion". Jax, the third place finalist, also released a single called "Forcefield".

Fox announced on May 11, 2015 that the fifteenth season would be the final season of American Idol; as such, the season was expected to have an additional focus on the program's alumni. Ryan Seacrest returned as host, with Harry Connick Jr., Keith Urban, and Jennifer Lopez all returning as judges.[16] The season was shortened by four weeks compared to previous years.[114] During the finale episode, President Barack Obama praised the millions of young people that voted for contestants and pitched that they vote in the upcoming election. The farewell season concluded on April 7, 2016. Seacrest signed off by saying: "And one more time—this is so tough—we say to you from Hollywood, goodnight America", and then he added, "for now."[115]

In early 2017, Variety reported that Fremantle Media was in-talks to revive the show for NBC or for its original network, FOX.[119] A dispute between Fremantle and Core Media Group derailed these plans.[120] Then, in May 2017, it was announced that ABC was making a bid to revive the program.[121] Later, ABC announced that it had acquired the rights to the series, and that American Idol would return for the 2017–18 television season.[122][123] On May 16, Katy Perry was the first judge to be announced by ABC.[32] On July 20, 2017, it was announced on Live with Kelly and Ryan, that Ryan Seacrest would be returning as the host for the revival season.[124] On September 24, 2017, Luke Bryan was the second judge to be announced for the revival season.[33] On September 29, 2017, Lionel Richie was the third and final judge to be announced.[34] On November 6, 2017, it was announced that the revival season would premiere on March 11, 2018.[125]

Idol Gives Back was a special charity event started in season six featuring performances by celebrities and various fund-raising initiatives. This event was also held in seasons seven and nine and has raised nearly $185 million in total.[77]

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of American Idol. It holds the distinction of having the longest winning streak in the Nielsen annual television ratings; it became the highest-rated of all television programs in the United States overall for an unprecedented seven consecutive years,[126] or eight consecutive (and total) years when either its performance or result show was ranked number one overall.[8]

Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

American Idol premiered in June 2002 and became the surprise summer hit show of 2002. The first show drew 9.9 million viewers, giving Fox the best viewing figure for the 8.30 pm spot in over a year.[173] The audience steadily grew, and by finale night, the audience had averaged 23 million, with more than 40 million watching some part of that show.[174] That episode was placed third amongst all age groups, but more importantly it led in the 18–49 demographic, the age group most valued by advertisers.[14]

The growth continued into the next season, starting with a season premiere of 26.5 million.[127] The season attracted an average of 21.7 million viewers, and was placed second overall amongst the 18–49 age group.[175] The finale night when Ruben Studdard won over Clay Aiken was also the highest-rated ever American Idol episode at 38.1 million for the final hour.[176] By season three, the show had become the top show in the 18–49 demographic[176] a position it has held for all subsequent years up to and including season ten, and its competition stages ranked first in the nationwide overall ratings. By season four, American Idol had become the most watched series amongst all viewers on American TV for the first time, with an average viewership of 26.8 million.[177] The show reached its peak in season five with numbers averaging 30.6 million per episode, and season five remains the highest-rated season of the series.[177]

Season six premiered with the series' highest-rated debut episode and a few of its succeeding episodes rank among the most watched episodes of American Idol. During this time, many television executives begun to regard the show as a programming force unlike any seen before,[6] as its consistent dominance of up to two hours two or three nights a week exceeded the 30- or 60-minute reach of previous hits such as NBC's The Cosby Show. The show was dubbed "the Death Star",[74] and competing networks often rearranged their schedules in order to minimize losses.[6] However, season six also showed a steady decline in viewership over the course of the season. The season finale saw a drop in ratings of 16% from the previous year. Season six was the first season wherein the average results show rated higher than the competition stages (unlike in the previous seasons), and became the second-highest-rated of the series after the preceding season.[176]

The loss of viewers continued into season seven. The premiere was down 11% among total viewers,[127] and the results show in which Kristy Lee Cook was eliminated delivered its lowest-rated Wednesday show among the 18–34 demo since the first season in 2002.[178] However, the ratings rebounded for the season seven finale with the excitement over the battle of the Davids, and improved over season six as the series' third most watched finale. The strong finish of season seven also helped Fox become the most watched TV network in the country for the first time since its inception, a first ever in American television history for a non-Big Three major broadcast network.[179] Overall ratings for the season were down 10% from season six,[180] which is in line with the fall in viewership across all networks due in part to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.[181]

The declining trend however continued into season eight, as total viewers numbers fell by 5–10% for early episodes compared to season seven,[182] and by 9% for the finale.[128] In season nine, Idol's six-year extended streak of perfection in the ratings was broken, when NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics on February 17 beat Idol in the same time slot with 30.1 million viewers over Idol's 18.4 million.[183] Nevertheless, American Idol overall finished its ninth season as the most watched TV series for the sixth year running, breaking the previous record of five consecutive seasons achieved by CBS' All in the Family and NBC's The Cosby Show.[184]

In season ten, the total viewer numbers for the first week of shows fell 12–13%, and by up to 23% in the 18–49 demo compared to season nine.[149] Later episodes, however, retained viewers better, and the season ended on a high with a significant increase in viewership for the finale – up 12% for the adults 18–49 demo and a 21% increase in total viewers from the season nine finale.[185] While the overall viewer number has increased this season, its viewer demographics have continued to age year on year – the median age this season was 47.2 compared to a median age of 32.1 in its first season.[186] By the time of the 2010–11 television season, Fox was in its seventh consecutive season of victory overall in the 18–49 demographic ratings in the United States.

Season eleven, however, suffered a steep drop in ratings, a drop attributed by some to the arrival of new shows such as The Voice and The X-Factor.[187] The ratings for the first two episodes of season eleven fell 16–21% in overall viewer numbers and 24–27% in the 18/49 demo,[153] while the season finale fell 27% in total viewer number and 30% in the 18–49 demo.[154] The average viewership for the season fell below 20 million viewers the first time since 2003, a drop of 23% in total viewers and 30% in the 18/49 demo. For the first time in eight years, American Idol lost the leading position in both the total viewers number and the 18/49 demo, coming in second to NBC Sunday Night Football, although the strengths of Idol in its second year in the Wednesday-Thursday primetime slots helped Fox achieve the longest period of 18–49 demographic victory in the Nielsen ratings, standing at 8 straight years from 2004 to 2012.[155]

The loss of viewers continued into season 12, which saw the show hitting a number of series low in the 18–49 demo.[188] The finale had 7.2 million fewer viewers than the previous season, and saw a drop of 44% in the 18–49 demo.[189] The season viewers averaged at 13.3 million, a drop of 24% from the previous season.[190] The thirteenth season suffered a huge decline in the 18–49 demographic, a drop of 28% from the twelfth season, and American Idol lost its Top 10 position in the Nielsen ratings by the end of the 2013–14 television season for the first time since its entry to the rankings in 2003 as a result, and never regained its Top 10 position by the series' end in 2016.[30]

The continuing decline influenced further changes for season 14, including the loss of Coca-Cola as the show's major sponsor, and a decision to only broadcast one, two-hour show per week during the top 12 rounds (with results from the previous week integrated into the performance show, rather than having a separate results show).[191][31][192] On May 11, 2015, prior to the fourteenth-season finale, Fox announced that the fifteenth season of American Idol would be its last.[16]

Despite these changes, the show's ratings would decline more sharply. The fourteenth-season finale was the lowest-rated finale ever, with an average of only 8.03 million viewers watching the finale. The show's ratings, however, rebounded in its final season, and ended its run in 2016 as Fox's first ever program to conclude its run without dropping from the Nielsen Top 30 most watched television shows in each of its seasons.

Early reviews were mixed in their assessment. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly considered that "As TV, American Idol is crazily entertaining; as music, it's dust-mote inconsequential".[193] Others, however, thought that "the most striking aspect of the series was the genuine talent it revealed".[14] It was also described as a "sadistic musical bake-off",[194] and "a romp in humiliation".[195] Other aspects of the show have attracted criticisms. The product placement in the show in particular was noted,[196] and some critics were harsh about what they perceived as its blatant commercial calculations – Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune charged that American Idol is "a conniving multimedia monster" that has "absorbed the sin of our debauched culture and spit them out in a lump of reconstituted evil".[197] The decision to send the season one winner to sing the national anthem at the Lincoln Memorial on the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks in 2002 was also poorly received by many. Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post noted sarcastically that "The terrorists have won" and, with a sideswipe at the show's commercialism and voting process, that the decision as to who "gets to turn this important site into just another cog in the 'Great American Idol Marketing Mandala' is in the hands of the millions of girls who have made American Idol a hit. Them and a handful of phone-redialer geeks who have been clocking up to 10,000 calls each week for their contestant of choice (but who, according to Fox, are in absolutely no way skewing the outcome)."[198]

Some of the later writers about the show were more positive, Michael Slezak, again of Entertainment Weekly, thought that "for all its bloated, synthetic, product-shilling, money-making trappings, Idol provides a once-a-year chance for the average American to combat the evils of today's music business."[199] Singer Sheryl Crow, who was later to act as a mentor on the show, however took the view that the show "undermines art in every way and promotes commercialism".[200] Pop music critic Ann Powers nevertheless suggested that Idol has "reshaped the American songbook", "led us toward a new way of viewing ourselves in relationship to mainstream popular culture", and connects "the classic Hollywood dream to the multicentered popular culture of the future."[201] Others focused on the personalities in the show; Ramin Setoodeh of Newsweek accused judge Simon Cowell's cruel critiques in the show of helping to establish in the wider world a culture of meanness, that "Simon Cowell has dragged the rest of us in the mud with him."[202] Some such as singer John Mayer disparaged the contestants, suggesting that those who appeared on Idol are not real artists with self-respect.[203]

Some in the entertainment industry were critical of the star-making aspect of the show. Usher, a mentor on the show, bemoaning the loss of the "true art form of music", thought that shows like American Idol made it seem "so easy that everyone can do it, and that it can happen overnight", and that "television is a lie".[204] Musician Michael Feinstein, while acknowledging that the show had uncovered promising performers, said that American Idol "isn't really about music. It's about all the bad aspects of the music business – the arrogance of commerce, this sense of 'I know what will make this person a star; artists themselves don't know.' "[205] That American Idol is seen to be a fast track to success for its contestants has been a cause of resentment for some in the industry. LeAnn Rimes, commenting on Carrie Underwood winning Best Female Artist in Country Music Awards over Faith Hill in 2006, said that "Carrie has not paid her dues long enough to fully deserve that award".[206] It is a common theme that has been echoed by many others. Elton John, who had appeared as a mentor in the show but turned down an offer to be a judge on American Idol, commenting on talent shows in general, said that "there have been some good acts but the only way to sustain a career is to pay your dues in small clubs".[207]

The success of the show's alumni, however, has led to a more positive assessment of the show, and the show was described as having "proven it has a valid way to pick talent and a proven way to sell records".[208] While the industry is divided on the show success, its impact is felt particularly strongly in the country music format.[209] According to a CMT exec, reflecting on the success of Idol alumni in the country genre, "if you want to try and get famous fast by going to a cattle call audition on TV, Idol reasonably remains the first choice for anyone", and that country music and Idol "go together well".[210]

Throughout the series, eleven of the fifteen Idol winners, including its first five, had come from the Southern United States.[215] A large number of other finalists during the series' run have also hailed from the American South, including Clay Aiken, Kellie Pickler, and Chris Daughtry,[215] who are all from North Carolina. In 2012, an analysis of the 131 contestants who have appeared in the finals of all seasons of the show up to that point found that 48% have some connection to the Southern United States.[216]

The show itself was popular in the Southern United States, with households in the Southeastern United States 10% more likely to watch American Idol during the eighth season in 2009, and those in the East Central region, such as Kentucky, were 16 percent more likely to tune into the series.[215] Data from Nielsen SoundScan, a music-sales tracking service, showed that of the 47 million CDs sold by Idol contestants through January 2010, 85 percent were by contestants with ties to the American South.[215]

Theories given for the success of Southerners on Idol have been: more versatility with musical genres, as the Southern U.S. is home to several music genre scenes; not having as many opportunities to break into the pop music business; text-voting due to the South having the highest percentage of cell-phone only households; and the strong heritage of music and singing, which is notable in the Bible Belt, where it is in church that many people get their start in public singing.[215][217][218] Others also suggest that the Southern character of these contestants appeal to the South, as well as local pride.[219] According to season five winner Taylor Hicks, who is from the state of Alabama, "People in the South have a lot of pride ... So, they're adamant about supporting the contestants who do well from their state or region."[215]

For five consecutive seasons, starting in season seven, the title was given to a white male who plays the guitar – a trend that Idol pundits call the "White guy with guitar" or "WGWG" factor.[220] Just hours before the season eleven finale, where Phillip Phillips was named the winner, Richard Rushfield, author of the book American Idol: The Untold Story, said, "You have this alliance between young girls and grandmas and they see it, not necessarily as a contest to create a pop star competing on the contemporary radio, but as .... who's the nicest guy in a popularity contest", he says, "And that has led to this dynasty of four, and possibly now five, consecutive, affable, very nice, good-looking white boys."[220]

The show had been criticized in earlier seasons over the onerous contract contestants had to sign that gave excessive control to 19 Entertainment over their future career,[221] and handed a large part of their future earnings to the management.[222][223]

Individual contestants have generated controversy in this competition for their past actions,[56][224] or for being 'ringers' planted by the producers.[79] A number of contestants had been disqualified for various reasons, such as for having an existing contract or undisclosed criminal records, although the show had been accused of double standard for disqualifying some but not others.[225]

Voting results have been a consistent source of controversy. The mechanism of voting had also aroused considerable criticisms, most notably in season two when Ruben Studdard beat Clay Aiken in a close vote,[57] and in season eight, when the massive increase in text votes[42] fueled the texting controversy.[91] Concerns about power voting have been expressed from the very first season.[226] Since 2004, votes also have been affected to a limited degree by online communities such as DialIdol, and Vote for the Worst.

The enormous success of the show and the revenue it generated was transformative for the Fox Broadcasting Company. American Idol and fellow competing shows Survivor and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire were altogether credited for expanding reality television programming in the United States in the 1990s and 2000s, and Idol became the most watched non-scripted primetime television series for almost a decade, from 2003 to 2012, breaking records on U.S. television (dominated by drama shows and sitcoms in the preceding decades).[227]

The show pushed Fox to become the number one U.S. TV network amongst adults 18–49,[228] the key demographic coveted by advertisers, for an unprecedented eight consecutive years by 2012.[229] Its success also helped lift the ratings of other shows that were scheduled around it such as House and Bones, and Idol, for years, had become Fox's strongest platform primetime television program for promoting eventual hit shows of the 2010s (of the same network) such as Glee and New Girl.[6] The show, its creator Simon Fuller claimed, "saved Fox".[230]

As one of the most successful shows on U.S. television history, American Idol had a strong impact not just on television, but also in the wider world of entertainment.[235][236] It helped create a number of highly successful recording artists, such as Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry and Carrie Underwood, as well as others of varying notability. The alumni of the show had received between them 54 Grammy nominations and 13 Grammy awards by the end of the show in 2016, with Carrie Underwood winning seven.[237][238]

Various American Idol alumni had success on various record charts around the world; in the U.S. they had achieved 345 number ones on the Billboardcharts in its first 10 years,[7] and 458 by its last year of broadcast in 2016, with 100 achieved by Kelly Clarkson alone.[239] According to Fred Bronson, author of books on the Billboard charts, no other entity has ever created as many hit-making artists and best-selling albums and singles.[240] In 2007, American Idol alums accounted for 2.1% of all music sales.[241] Its alumni have a massive impact on radio; in 2007, American Idol had become "a dominant force in radio" according to the president of the research company Mediabase which monitors radio stations Rich Meyer.[242] By 2010, four winners each had more than a million radio spins, with Kelly Clarkson leading the field with over four million spins.[243]

At the end of the show's run, Idol's contestants have sold more than 60 million albums in the US, resulting in more than 80 Platinum records and 95 Gold records. Its participants have generated more than 450 Billboard No. 1 hits and sold more than 260 million digital downloads.[244]

The impact of American Idol was also strongly felt in musical theatre, where many of Idol alumni have forged successful careers. The striking effect of former American Idol contestants on Broadway has been noted and commented on.[245][246] The casting of a popular Idol contestant can lead to significantly increased ticket sales. Other alumni have gone on to work in television and films, the most notable being Jennifer Hudson who, on the recommendation of the Idol vocal coach Debra Byrd,[247] won a role in Dreamgirls and subsequently received an Academy Award for her performance.

The dominance of American Idol in the ratings had made it the most profitable show in U.S. TV for many years. The show was estimated to generate $900 million for the year 2004 through sales of TV ads, albums, merchandise and concert tickets.[230] By season seven, the show was estimated to earn around $900 million from its ad revenue alone, not including ancillary sponsorship deals and other income.[248][249] One estimate puts the total TV revenue for the first eight seasons of American at $6.4 billion.[250] Sponsors that bought fully integrated packages can expect a variety of promotions of their products on the show, such as product placement, adverts and product promotion integrated into the show, and various promotional opportunities.[251] Other off-air promotional partners pay for the rights to feature "Idol" branding on their packaging, products and marketing programs.[252]American Idol also partnered with Disney in its theme park attraction The American Idol Experience.

American Idol became the most expensive series on broadcast networks for advertisers starting season four,[253] and by the next season, it had broken the record in advertising rate for a regularly scheduled prime-time network series, selling over $700,000 for a 30-seconds slot,[254] and reaching up to $1.3 million for the finale.[255] Its ad prices reached a peak in season seven at $737,000.[249] Estimated revenue more than doubled from $404 million in season three to $870 million in season six.[256] While that declined from season eight onwards, it still earned significantly more than its nearest competitor,[257][258] with advertising revenue topping $800 million annually the next few seasons.[259] However, the sharp drop in ratings in season eleven also resulted in a sharp drop in advertising rate for season twelve, and the show lost its leading position as the costliest show for advertisers.[260] By 2014, ad revenue from had fallen to $427 million where a 30-second spot went for less than $300,000.[261]

Ford Motor Company and Coca-Cola were two of the first sponsors of American Idol in its first season. The sponsorship deal cost around $10 million in season one,[262] rising to $35 million by season 7,[252] and between $50 to $60 million in season 10.[263] The third major sponsor AT&T Wireless joined in the second season but ended after season 12, and Coca-Cola officially ended its sponsorship after season 13 amidst the declining ratings of Idol in the mid-2010s. iTunes sponsored the show since season seven.

American Idol prominent display of its sponsors' logo and products had been noted since the early seasons.[14][174] By season six, Idol showed 4,349 product placements according to Nielsen Media Research.[264] The branded entertainment integration proved beneficial to its advertisers – promotion of AT&T text-messaging as a means to vote successfully introduced the technology into the wider culture,[41][265] and Coca-Cola has seen its equity increased during the show.[266]

Coca-Cola – Cups bearing logo of Coca-Cola, and occasionally its subsidiary Vitaminwater,[267] are featured prominently on the judges table. Contestants are shown between songs held in the "Coca-Cola Red Room", the show's equivalent of the green room. (The Coca-Cola logo however is obscured during rebroadcast in the UK which until 2011 banned product placement.[268])

Ford – Contestants appear in the special Ford videos on the results shows, and winners Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Hicks, and Kris Allen have also appeared in commercials for Ford.[251] The final two each won a free Ford Mustang in seasons four, five and six, Ford Escape Hybrid in season seven, Ford Fusion Hybrid in season eight, Ford Fiesta in season nine, and 2013 Ford Fusion in season eleven. In season ten Scotty McCreery chose a Ford F-150 and Lauren Alaina chose Shelby Mustang. In the red room, there is a glass table with a Ford wheel as its base.

AT&T – AT&T Mobility is promoted as the service provider for text-voting. AT&T created an ad campaign that centered on an air-headed teenager going around telling people to vote.

Previous sponsors include Old Navy and Clairol's Herbal Essences. In seasons two and three, contestants sometimes donned Old Navy clothing for their performances with celebrity stylist Steven Cojocaru assisting with their wardrobe selection,[269] and contestants received Clairol-guided hair makeovers. In the season seven finale, both David Cook and David Archuleta appeared in "Risky Business"-inspired commercials for Guitar Hero, a sponsor of the tour that year.

Coca-Cola's archrival PepsiCo declined to sponsor American Idol at the show's start. What the Los Angeles Times later called "missing one of the biggest marketing opportunities in a generation" contributed to Pepsi losing market share, by 2010 falling to third place from second in the United States. PepsiCo sponsored the American version of Cowell's The X Factor in hopes of not repeating its Idol mistake until its cancellation.[270]

The top ten (eleven in the tenth and twelfth seasons and five in the fourteenth season) toured at the end of every season except for the final season.[271] In the season twelve tour a semi-finalist who won a sing-off was also added to the tour. Kellogg's Pop-Tarts was the sponsor for the first seven seasons, and Guitar Hero was added for the season seven tour. M&M's Pretzel Chocolate Candies was a sponsor of the season nine tour. The season five tour was the most successful tour with gross of over $35 million.[272] However no concert tour was organized after the last season, the only season not to have an associated tour.[273]

American Idol has traditionally released studio recordings of contestants' performances as well as the winner's coronation single for sale. For the first five seasons, the recordings were released as a compilation album at the end of the season. All five of these albums reached the top ten in Billboard 200 which made then American Idol the most successful soundtrack franchise of any motion picture or television program.[274] Starting late in season five, individual performances were released during the season as digital downloads, initially from the American Idol official website only. In season seven the live performances and studio recordings were made available during the season from iTunes when it joined as a sponsor. In Season ten the weekly studio recordings were also released as compilation digital album straight after performance night.

On February 14, 2009, The Walt Disney Company debuted "The American Idol Experience" at its Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. In this live production, co-produced by 19 Entertainment, park guests chose from a list of songs and auditioned privately for Disney cast members. Those selected then performed on a stage in a 1000-seat theater replicating the Idol set. Three judges, whose mannerisms and style mimicked those of the real Idol judges, critiqued the performances.[276] Audience members then voted for their favorite performer. There were several preliminary-round shows during the day that culminated in a "finals" show in the evening where one of the winners of the previous rounds that day was selected as the overall winner.[277] The winner of the finals show received a "Dream Ticket" that granted them front-of-the-line privileges at any future American Idol audition.[276] The attraction closed on August 30, 2014.[278]

American Idol is broadcast to over 100 nations outside of the United States.[279] In most nations these are not live broadcasts and may be tape delayed by several days or weeks. In Canada, the first thirteen seasons of American Idol were aired live by CTV and/or CTV Two, in simulcast with Fox. CTV dropped Idol after its thirteenth season and in August 2014, Yes TV announced that it had picked up Canadian rights to American Idol beginning in its 2015 season.[280][281]

In Latin America, the show is broadcast and subtitled by Sony Entertainment Television. In southeast Asia, it is broadcast by STAR World every Thursday and Friday nine or ten hours after. In Philippines, it is aired every Thursday and Friday nine or ten hours after its United States telecast; from 2004 to 2007 on ABC 5; 2008–11 on QTV, then GMA News TV; and since 2012 on ETC. On Philippine television history. In Australia, it aired a few hours after the U.S. telecast. It was aired on Network Ten from 2002 to 2008 and then again in 2013. Between 2008 and 2012 it aired on Fox8 and from season 13 to 14 (2014–15) it aired on digital channel, Eleven, a sister channel to Network Ten. Its final season (2016) aired on Fox8 hours after the original U.S. broadcast. The show enjoyed a lot of popularity in Australia throughout the 2000s before declining in the ratings.[282] In the United Kingdom, episodes are aired one day after the U.S. broadcast on digital channel ITV2. As of season 12, the episodes air on 5*. It is also aired in Ireland on TV3 two days after the telecast. In Brazil and Israel, the show airs two days after its original broadcast. In the instances where the airing is delayed, the shows may sometimes be combined into one episode to summarize the results. In Italy, the twelfth season was broadcast by La3.[283]

^American Idol does not have a ranking for the 2001–2002 season because it aired in the summer of 2002. If it had aired within the official 2001–2002 U.S. television season, the Wednesday results show would have ranked number 25 and the Tuesday performance show would have ranked number 30, assuming it would have had the same rating as it did in the summer.

1.
Reality competition
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It differs from documentary television in that the focus tends to be on drama, personal conflict, and entertainment rather than educating viewers. The genre has various standard tropes, including confessionals used by cast members to express their thoughts, an early example of the genre was the 1991 Dutch series Nummer 28, which was the first show to bring together strangers and record their interactions. It then exploded as a phenomenon in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the success of the series Survivor, Idols. These shows and a number of others became global franchises, spawning local versions in dozens of countries, Reality television as a whole has become a fixture of television programming. There are grey areas around what is classified as reality television, Reality television has faced significant criticism since its rise in popularity. Much of the criticism has centered on the use of the word reality, Television formats portraying ordinary people in unscripted situations are almost as old as the television medium itself. Precedents for television that portrayed people in unscripted situations began in the late 1940s, queen for a Day was an early example of reality-based television. The 1946 television game show Cash and Carry sometimes featured contestants performing stunts, debuting in 1948, Allen Funts hidden camera show Candid Camera broadcast unsuspecting ordinary people reacting to pranks. In 1948, talent search shows Ted Macks Original Amateur Hour and Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts featured amateur competitors, in the 1950s, game shows Beat the Clock and Truth or Consequences involved contestants in wacky competitions, stunts, and practical jokes. Confession was a show which aired from June 1958 to January 1959. The radio series Nightwatch tape-recorded the daily activities of Culver City, the series You Asked for It incorporated audience involvement by basing episodes around requests sent in by postcard from viewers. First broadcast in the United Kingdom in 1964, the Granada Television documentary Seven Up, broadcast interviews with a dozen ordinary 7-year-olds from a broad cross-section of society and inquired about their reactions to everyday life. Every seven years, a film documented the life of the same individuals during the period, titled the Up Series, episodes include 7 Plus Seven,21 Up. The program was structured as a series of interviews with no element of plot, however, it did have the then-new effect of turning ordinary people into celebrities. The first reality show in the modern sense may have been the series The American Sportsman, Another precursor may be considered Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom which aired from 1963 through 1988. This show featured zoologist Marlin Perkins traveling across the globe and illustrating the variety of animal life on the planet. Though mostly a travelogue, it was popular in syndication and new episodes were produced through the eighties. The 12-part 1973 PBS series An American Family showed a nuclear family going through a divorce, unlike many later reality shows, it was more or less documentary in purpose and style

2.
Ryan Seacrest
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Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host and producer. He is best known for hosting the talent competition show American Idol, as well as the countdown program American Top 40. He received Emmy Award nominations for American Idol, and won an Emmy for producing Jamie Olivers Food Revolution. Seacrest was born on December 24,1974, in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Constance Marie, a homemaker, and Gary Lee Seacrest and his mother told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Instead of playing with G. I. Joes or Cowboys and Indians, Ryan would always have a little microphone, at age 14, he attended Dunwoody High School. At age 16, while attending high school, Seacrest won an internship at WSTR, in Atlanta, with Tom Sullivan. When the regular DJ called in sick, Sullivan put him on the air for the very first show of his broadcasting career, Seacrest was given the weekend overnight shift at WSTR. Seacrest continued to work on air at WSTR until graduating from Dunwoody High School in 1992, Seacrest went on to study journalism at the University of Georgia in fall 1992. He continued his show at a local Athens station. Seacrest left the university at age 19 and moved to Hollywood to pursue his broadcasting career, in 1993, Seacrest hosted the first season of ESPNs Radical Outdoor Challenge. He also hosted three kids game shows, Gladiators 2000 from 1994–96, Wild Animal Games in 1995, Seacrest appeared as the host of the fictional game show Lovers Lane on Beverly Hills,90210 in The Final Proof. In the fall and winter of 2000, Seacrest was the host of The NBC Saturday Night Movie, during commercial breaks, he offered trivia on the film and a chance to win prizes by answering online on NBCi. In 2001, he hosted a reality program, Ultimate Revenge. It was shown on TNN from 2001 to 2003, American Idol In 2002, Seacrest accepted the position as co-host of a new Fox reality television series American Idol with comedian Brian Dunkleman. American Idol went on to success, putting Seacrest in the national spotlight, the following year, he became the sole host. When the show increased in popularity, seen by some 26 million viewers weekly, in 2003, Seacrest hosted the spin-off show, American Juniors. In July 2009, Seacrest inked a deal with CKX for $45 million to continue to host American Idol, in April 2012, Seacrest signed a two-year, $30 million deal to stay on as host of American Idol. In May 2014, Deadline. com reported that he had signed a deal with the option of another year

3.
Paula Abdul
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Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, voice actress, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 before rising to prominence in the 1980s as a highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the video era. Abdul later scored a string of pop hits in the late 1980s. Her six number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 tie her with Diana Ross for seventh among the female performers who have topped the chart. She won a Grammy for Best Music Video – Short Form for Opposites Attract, after her initial period of success, Abdul suffered a series of setbacks in her professional and personal life. She saw renewed fame and success as a judge on American Idol in the 2000s. Abdul was born in San Fernando, California, to Jewish parents, Abduls father, Harry Abdul, was born into the Syrian-Jewish community in Aleppo, Syria, was raised in Brazil, and subsequently emigrated to the United States. Her mother, the concert pianist Lorraine M. Rykiss, grew up in one of the two Jewish families in Minnedosa, Manitoba, and has Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors from Ukraine, Abdul holds dual citizenship in the United States and Canada. She has a sister named Wendy, in 1980, she graduated from Van Nuys High School. An avid dancer, Abdul was inspired towards a business career by Gene Kelly in the classic film Singin in the Rain. Abdul began taking lessons at an early age in ballet, jazz. She attended Van Nuys High School, where she was a cheerleader, at 15, she received a scholarship to a dance camp near Palm Springs, and in 1978 appeared in a low-budget Independent musical film, Junior High School. Abdul studied broadcasting at the California State University, Northridge, during her freshman year, she was selected from a pool of 700 candidates for the cheerleading squad of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team—the famed Laker Girls. Within a year, she became head choreographer, Abdul was discovered by The Jacksons, after a few of the band members had watched her while attending a Los Angeles Lakers game. She was signed to do the choreography for the video to their single Torture and my only problem was how to tell the Jacksons how to dance, Abdul later recalled. Imagine me telling them what routines to do, I was young, I was scared. Im not quite sure how I got through that, the success of the choreography in the video led to Abduls career of choreographer in music videos. It was also due to the success of the video that Abdul was chosen to be the choreographer for the Jacksons Victory tour, Abdul choreographed videos for several singers throughout the 1980s, including many videos for Janet Jackson during her Control era

4.
Simon Cowell
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Simon Phillip Cowell is an English reality television judge and producer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Cowell is the founder and chief executive of the British entertainment company Syco. As a judge, Cowell often makes blunt and controversial comments, including insults and wisecracks about contestants and he combines activities in both the television and music industries. Cowell has produced and promoted singles and albums for various singers that he has taken under his wing and he was most recently featured on the tenth series of Britains Got Talent and the thirteenth series of UKs The X Factor. In 2004 and 2010, Time named Cowell one of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 2008 The Daily Telegraph ranked him sixth in their list of the 100 most powerful people in British culture. Simon Phillip Cowell was born on 7 October 1959 in Lambeth, London and his mother, Julie Brett, was a ballet dancer and socialite, and his father, Eric Selig Phillip Cowell, Sr. was an estate agent developer and music industry executive. Cowells father was from a mostly Jewish family, though he did not discuss his background with his children, Cowells mother was from a Christian background, and was of English descent. He has a brother, Nicholas Cowell, three half-brothers, John, Tony, and Michael Cowell, and a half-sister, June Cowell. Cowell attended Radlett Preparatory School and the independent Dover College as did his brother and he passed English Language and Literature, and then attended Windsor Technical College where he gained another GCE in Sociology. However, after failing to get a promotion, he left to try out other jobs before returning to EMI, in the early 1980s, he left EMI to form E&S Music with his former boss at EMI, but quit in 1983. He then formed Fanfare Records with Iain Burton, initially selling exercise videos and he had his first hit song in 1986 with So Macho by Sinitta, success also came through Stock Aitken Waterman who produced a number of hits in the 1980s. However, in 1989, the company went under and Simon Cowell nearly became bankrupt, Simon Cowell then found a job with BMG as an A&R consultant, and set up S Records under BMG. He restarted his career in the business by creating novelty records with acts such as the puppets Zig and Zag, Power Rangers. The recording by the duo, now named Robson & Jerome, quickly reached number 1 in the UK and it became the best selling single of 1995, and their self-titled album released later in the year also became the best-selling album of 1995. They would release an album and 2 more singles before quitting, selling 7 million albums and 5 million singles in total. According to Cowell, they made him his first million, later acts he signed included Five, Westlife and Teletubbies. He also became a judge on the first season of American Idol in 2002, with his notoriously critical reputation, Cowell is likened to TV personalities such as Judith Sheindlin, and Anne Robinson of her show. Cowells prominence grew, fed by his phrase, I dont mean to be rude

5.
Randy Jackson
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Randall Darius Randy Jackson is an American bassist, singer, record producer, entrepreneur and television personality. He is best known from his work as a judge on American Idol. Jackson has won a Grammy Award as a producer, Jackson was born on June 23,1956, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of Julia, a homemaker, and Herman Jackson, a plant foreman. His first marriage, to Elizabeth Jackson, was dissolved in 1990, in 1995, Jackson married Erika Riker, with whom he has two children, a 14-year-old daughter named Zoe and a 12-year-old son named Jordan. In 2003, Jackson lost 114 pounds following gastric bypass surgery and he stated in a February 2008 television commercial that he has type 2 diabetes. In the early 1980s he played on three albums for Jean-Luc Ponty and with the rock band Taxxi, from 1986 to 1987 he was a session musician for the rock group Journey. Jackson played on Journeys 1986 album Raised on Radio and he moved to Italy in the late 1980s and played on a record by Italian pop star Zucchero. The record, Zucchero and the Randy Jackson Band, was produced by Corrado Rustici who played guitar with Jackson on many albums in the early 1980s and he also played with Billy Cobham. In 1985, Keith Richards was asked to provide music for the Whoopi Goldberg comedy vehicle Jumpin Jack Flash, Richards assembled an all-star band which included Aretha Franklin on piano and lead vocals and Jackson on bass guitar. This song was the track on Arethas 1986 album titled Aretha. Jackson can be seen in the songs video, in the late 1980s, Jackson was still doing sessions. He was notably on the first solo album by famed session guitarist Steve Lukather, Jackson was a featured bass guitarist on five songs on Mazes 1989 Silky Soul album. He also performed on several of Kenny Gs albums, Jackson was the bass guitarist on the 1991 self-titled Divinyls album as well as featured bassist on several tracks of Tracy Chapmans 1992 release, Matters of the Heart. He performed on the singles Bang Bang Bang, Open Arms and that same year, Jackson also played bass on Bruce Springsteens song Human Touch. Jackson has recorded, produced, or toured with many artists and bands, ranging from Mariah Carey to N Sync, Whitney Houston, Dionne Farris, Céline Dion, Fergie, Stryper. Jackson played numerous times in Jean-Luc Pontys backing band and his production/songwriting work in the San Francisco Bay Area with Narada Michael Walden and Walter Afanasieff led Jackson to be in demand as a producer as well. On March 11,2008, Jackson released an album produced entirely by himself, titled Randy Jacksons Music Club, the albums release was preceded by the single Dance Like Theres No Tomorrow sung by Paula Abdul. In 2009, Randy began working with former Idol finalist Kimberley Locke, the lead single, Strobe Light, was released March 16,2010

6.
Kara DioGuardi
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Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, composer and TV personality. She writes music primarily in the pop rock genre, DioGuardi has worked with many popular artists, sales of albums on which her songs appear exceed 160 million worldwide. DioGuardi is a Grammy and Emmy-nominated writer, DioGuardi served as a judge on American Idol for its eighth and ninth seasons. In 2008, she was appointed to the position of vice president of talent development at Warner Bros. Records, and has signed such as Jason Derülo and Iyaz. In 2011, she was a judge on the Bravo singer-songwriter competition series Platinum Hit. DioGuardi was born in Ossining, New York and she is descended from Roman Catholic Arbëreshë/Albanian from Italy. Her father is former Republican Congressman and 2010 US Senate candidate Joseph J. DioGuardi and she is a 7th cousin, once-removed, of veteran TV personality Regis Philbin. Her mother Carol died in 1997 after a 7-year battle with ovarian cancer, after graduating from college, she worked for Billboard magazine as an assistant to Timothy White and Howard Lander and later as an advertising sales representative. DioGuardi has a catalog of several hundred songs, of which over 300 have been released on major labels worldwide. She has had 50 international charting singles over the course of her career and her songs have been featured in major motion pictures, television shows, film soundtracks, and radio spots, as well as national and international commercial campaigns. She wrote with Ashlee Simpson for her first and second albums and she collaborated with Thalía in 2003 for her self-titled album Thalía. In 2004, DioGuardi co-wrote on six of the tracks off Kelly Clarksons sophomore album Breakaway including Clarksons hit Walk Away. In the same year, she collaborated with Jesse McCartney on his album Right Where You Want Me, co-writing four songs called Anybody, Invincible, Running Away, in 2007, DioGuardi worked with many notable artists, one of whom was Britney Spears. DioGuardi wrote and produced Ooh Ooh Baby and co-produced Heaven on Earth on Spears album Blackout, DioGuardi also contributed a majority of songs on Hilary Duffs fourth studio album, Dignity. Among DioGuardis projects is the song Not Meant to Be, which appears on Theory of a Deadmans 2008 album, DioGuardi co-wrote the song with lead singer Tyler Connolly, and is also featured as the love interest in the music video which was released on March 10,2009. This was her debut in the video industry. In 2009, DioGuardi wrote If I Cant Have You for Meat Loafs 2010 album, Hang Cool Teddy Bear and she is also one of the writers for Ghost, which was released as a single from Fefe Dobsons album Joy

7.
Jennifer Lopez
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Jennifer Lynn Lopez, also known as JLo, is an American singer, actress, dancer, fashion designer, author, and producer. Lopez gained her first high-profile job as a Fly Girl dancer on In Living Color in 1991 and she received her first leading role in the Selena biopic of the same name in 1997, a portrayal that earned her a Golden Globe nomination. For her role in Out of Sight the following year, Lopez became the first Latina actress to earn over US$1 million for a film. She ventured into the industry in 1999 with her debut studio album On the 6. With the simultaneous release of her studio album J. Lo and her film The Wedding Planner in 2001, Lopez became the first woman to have a number one album. Her 2002 remix album, J to tha L–O, the Remixes, became the first in history to debut at number one on the U. S. Billboard 200. Following her second divorce, Lopez had a relationship with Ben Affleck. Then, while also overshadowing the release of Gigli, a critical and commercial failure and she subsequently married longtime friend Marc Anthony, and rebounded with the box office successes Shall We Dance. and Monster-in-Law. Her fifth studio album, Como Ama una Mujer, received the highest first-week sales for a debut Spanish album in the United States, in 2016, she began starring as Harlee Santos in the crime drama series Shades of Blue. Time listed her as one of the 25 most influential Hispanic Americans, for her contributions to the arts, Lopez has received a landmark star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Billboard Icon Award, among other honors. Beyond entertainment, she enjoys a successful business career consisting of various clothing lines, accessories, fragrances, a company. Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24,1969, in the Castle Hill neighborhood of The Bronx, New York, to Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe Rodríguez and she has an older sister, Leslie, and a younger sister, Lynda, a journalist. David worked the night shift at the Guardian Insurance Company before becoming a technician at the firm. When Lopez was born, the family was living in a small apartment, a few years later, her parents had saved up enough money to be able to purchase a two-story house, which was considered a big deal for the relatively poor family. At the age of five, Lopez began taking singing and dancing lessons and she toured New York with her school when she was seven years old. Her parents stressed the importance of work ethic and being able to speak English and they encouraged their three daughters to put on performances at home—singing and dancing in front of each other and their friends so that they would stay out of trouble. Lopez spent her academic career in Catholic schools, finishing at Preston High School. In school, Lopez did gymnastics, ran track on a national level and she excelled athletically rather than academically, competing in national track championships

8.
Steven Tyler
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He is known as the Demon of Screamin due to his high screams and his wide vocal range. He is also known for his on-stage acrobatics, during his high-energy performances, Tyler usually dresses in bright, colorful outfits with his trademark scarves hanging from his microphone stand. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tyler had a drug and alcohol addiction. Tyler and bandmate Joe Perry became known as the Toxic Twins due to their drug abuse, in the wake of this success, Tyler emerged as one of the most enduring rock icons. Since the late 1980s, he has embarked on solo endeavors including guest appearances on other artists music, film and TV roles, authoring a bestselling book. Tyler is included among Rolling Stones 100 Greatest Singers and he was ranked third on Hit Paraders Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. Steven Victor Tallarico was born on March 26,1948, at the Polyclinic Hospital in Manhattan, New York, the family moved to Yonkers when he was about nine years old. The son of Susan Ray, a secretary, and Victor A. Tallarico and his father was of Italian and German descent, while his mother was of Polish and English ancestry. His maternal grandfather, who was from what is present-day Poland and his paternal grandfather, Giovanni Tallarico, was from Cotronei, Calabria, Italy. Steven has one sister named Lynda. Steven attended Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, New York, in 1965, aged 17, Tyler spent time in Greenwich Village, New York, the highlight of which was seeing a Rolling Stones concert. Tyler states that his friends and he hung around for a while, a photo in the bands autobiography Walk This Way shows Tyler standing behind Mick Jagger outside a hotel. Before Aerosmith, Tyler wrote what would one of Aerosmiths signature songs. In 1969, Tyler attended a rock show in Sunapee, New Hampshire, where he first saw future bandmates Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton. Tyler later stated he was struck by their raw power and attitude, around 1970, Tyler, Perry, and Hamilton decided to form a band. Tyler, who had played drums in many of his previous bands, insisted that he be the frontman, Joey Kramer, an old acquaintance of Tylers from New York, was recruited to play drums. Tyler invited his friend, Ray Tabano, to play rhythm guitar. Shortly after relocating to Boston, Tylers dissatisfaction with Tabanos lack of passion and dedication prompted the band to replace Tabano with Brad Whitford

9.
Mariah Carey
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Mariah Carey is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. In 1990, Carey rose to fame with the release of Vision of Love from her eponymous debut album, the album produced four chart-topping singles in the US and began what would become a string of commercially successful albums which solidified the singer as Columbias highest selling act. Carey and Boyz II Men spent a record sixteen weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995–1996 with One Sweet Day, following a contentious divorce from Sony Music head Tommy Mottola, Carey adopted a new image and traversed towards hip hop with the release of Butterfly. In 1998, she was honored as the worlds best-selling recording artist of the 1990s at the World Music Awards, Carey parted with Columbia in 2000, and signed a record-breaking $100 million recording contract with Virgin Records America. In the weeks prior to the release of her film Glitter and its soundtrack in 2001. The project was received and led to a general decline in the singers career. Careys recording contract was out for $50 million by Virgin. After a relatively unsuccessful period, she returned to the top of music charts with The Emancipation of Mimi, Carey once again ventured into film with a well-received supporting role in Precious, and was awarded the Breakthrough Performance Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Throughout her career, Carey has sold more than 200 million records worldwide, according to the RIAA, she is the third-best-selling female artist in the United States, with 63.5 million certified albums. With the release of Touch My Body, Carey gained her 18th number-one single in the United States, in 2012, the singer was ranked second on VH1s list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. Mariah Carey was born in Huntington, New York, to Patricia and her mother is of Irish descent, while her father had African-American and Afro-Venezuelan ancestry. The surname Carey was adopted by her Venezuelan grandfather, Francisco Núñez, Patricia was an occasional opera singer and vocal coach before she met Alfred in 1960. As he began earning a living as an engineer, the couple married later that year. After their elopement, Patricias family disowned her for marrying a black man, Carey later explained that she felt neglected by her maternal family while growing up, which affected her greatly. In the years between the births of Careys older sister Alison and herself, the Carey family struggled within the community due to their ethnicity, Careys name was derived from the song They Call the Wind Maria, originally from the 1951 Broadway musical Paint Your Wagon. When Carey was three, her parents divorced, after their separation, Alison moved in with her father, while the other two children, Mariah and brother Morgan, remained with their mother. Carey grew apart from her father and would stop seeing him altogether. By age four, she recalled that she had begun to sneak the radio under her covers at night, during elementary school, she excelled in subjects that she enjoyed, such as music, art, and literature, but did not find interest in others

10.
Nicki Minaj
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Onika Tanya Maraj, known professionally as Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-born American rapper, singer, songwriter and model. Born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago and raised in South Jamaica, Queens, New York and she has been signed to Young Money Entertainment since 2009. In 2010, Minaj became the first female solo artist to have seven singles simultaneously charting on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100. Her third studio album, The Pinkprint, was preceded by its single, Anaconda. Minaj made her debut in the 2012 animated film Ice Age, Continental Drift, followed by supporting roles in The Other Woman and Barbershop. In 2013, she was a judge on the season of American Idol. Minaj was the first female artist included on MTVs Annual Hottest MC List, in 2016, Minaj was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. Her rapping is distinctive for its fast flow and the use of alter egos and accents, early in her career, Minaj was known for her colorful costumes and wigs. According to Billboard, Minaj has the most Hot 100 entries for a female artist in the charts history and she has further endorsed Adidas, MAC Cosmetics and Pepsi. She has sold 20 million singles as a lead artist, and 60 million singles as a featured artist worldwide, Onika Tanya Maraj was born on December 8,1982, in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago. Her father, Robert Maraj, a executive and part-time gospel singer, is of Indo-Trinidadian and Afro-Trinidadian descent. Her mother, Carol Maraj, also a singer, is of Afro-Trinidadian ancestry. Carol worked in payroll and accounting departments during Minajs youth, Minajs father was addicted to alcohol and other drugs, and had a violent temper, burning down their house in December 1987. As a small child, Minaj and a sibling lived with her grandmother in Saint James and her mother, who had moved to The Bronx, New York to attend Monroe College, brought the family to Queens, New York, when Minaj was 5. By then the family had a house on West 147th Street, Minaj recalled, I don’t think I had a lot of discipline in my household. My mom motivated me, but it wasn’t a strict household, I kind of wanted a strict household. Minaj successfully auditioned for admission to LaGuardia High School in Manhattan, after graduation, Minaj wanted to become an actress, and she was cast in the Off-Broadway play In Case You Forget in 2001. At the age of 19, as she struggled with her career, she worked as a waitress at Red Lobster in the Bronx

11.
Keith Urban
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Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian-American country musician. In 1991, he released a debut album and charted four singles in Australia before moving to the United States the following year. He found work as a session guitarist before starting a band known as The Ranch, still signed to Capitol, Urban made his solo American debut in 1999 with a second eponymous album. Certified platinum in the US, it produced his first number one on Hot Country Songs with But for the Grace of God. Somebody Like You, the first single from his second Capitol album, the albums fourth single, Youll Think of Me, earned him his first Grammy. 2004s Be Here, his third American album, produced three more number 1 singles and became his highest-selling album, earning 4× Platinum certification. Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing was released in 2006, containing Once in a Lifetime as well as his second Grammy song, a greatest hits package entitled Greatest Hits,18 Kids followed in late 2007. Defying Gravity and Get Closer were released on 31 March 2009 and 16 November 2010, a new single, entitled John Cougar, John Deere, John 3,16, was released in June 2015 as the lead-off single to his eighth American studio album Ripcord. Urban has released a total of nine albums, as well as one album with The Ranch. Those also include his third Grammy Award-winning single Sweet Thing from his album Defying Gravity, Urban is also known for his roles as a coach on the Australian version of the singing competition The Voice and as a judge on American Idol. Since 2006, he has married to actress Nicole Kidman. In October 2013, Urban introduced his own line of guitars. Keith Lionel Urban was born on 26 October 1967, in Whangarei, New Zealand, He is the youngest son of Marienne and Robert Bob Urban. At the age of 13, he attended Sir Edmund Hillary College in Otara, South Auckland, New Zealand and by the age of 17, he lived with his parents in Caboolture, Queensland, Australia. His father, who owned a store, put an advertisement for a guitar teacher in his shop window. Urban took lessons from his teacher, Sue McCarthy and began entering local competitions, Urban has stated that his guitar playing was influenced by two rock players, Mark Knopfler and Lindsey Buckingham. He also performed at country festivals from the age of 10, in 1983, Urban was a contestant on the Australian TV talent show New Faces. They won a golden award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival

12.
Harry Connick Jr.
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Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. is an American singer, big band leader, talk show host and actor. He has sold over 28 million albums worldwide, Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 16 million in certified sales. He has had seven top 20 US albums, and ten number-one US jazz albums, Connicks best-selling album in the United States is his Christmas album When My Heart Finds Christmas. His highest-charting album is his release Only You, which reached No.5 in the US and he has won three Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards. He played Graces husband, Leo Markus, on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace from 2002 to 2006, Connick began his acting career as a tail gunner in the World War II film Memphis Belle. He played a killer in Copycat, before being cast as a fighter pilot in the blockbuster Independence Day. Connicks first role as a man was in Hope Floats with Sandra Bullock. His first thriller film since Copycat came in the film Basic with John Travolta, additionally, he played the violent ex-husband in Bug, before two romantic comedies, P. S. I Love You, and the man in New in Town with Renée Zellweger. In 2011, he appeared in the family film Dolphin Tale as Dr. Clay Haskett, Harry Connick Jr. was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. His mother, Anita Frances, was a lawyer and judge in New Orleans and, later and his father, Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Sr. was the district attorney of Orleans Parish from 1973 to 2003. His parents also owned a record store, Connicks father is a Catholic of Irish, English, and German ancestry. Connicks mother, who died from cancer, was Jewish. Connick has a sister, Suzanna, the siblings were raised in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans, Connick is a first cousin of both Jefferson Parish District Attorney, Paul Connick, and State Representative Patrick Connick. Connicks musical talents soon came to the fore when he started learning the keyboards at age three, playing publicly at age five, and recording with a jazz band at ten. The song was Im Just Wild About Harry and this was recorded for a Japanese documentary called Jazz Around the World. The clip was shown in a Bravo special, called Worlds of Harry Connick. His musical talents were developed at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and under the tutelage of Ellis Marsalis Jr. Connick attended Jesuit High School, Isidore Newman School, Lakeview School, and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, all in New Orleans

13.
FremantleMedia
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FremantleMedia Group Limited is a British international television content and production/distribution subsidiary of Bertelsmanns RTL Group, Europes largest TV, radio, and production company. Its world headquarters are located in London, early on, it merged with Germanys largest television production company, UFA. The company holds the rights to such as Lets Make a Deal, Family Feud. Fremantle also produced Temptation and an interactive gameshow Quizmania for ITV Play and they own the rights to most of the post 1948 Bob Hope film catalog that includes The Seven Little Foys, The Lemon Drop Kid, and Son of Paleface. They were also the distributors of the television series Baywatch, currently, they hold rights to the game Brain Wall, more commonly known as Hole in the Wall in over 20 countries. In other countries, they own the rights to Betty La Fea in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Sara in Belgium. FremantleMedia also holds international rights to the Threes Company franchise. The company also owns the catalog of the American TV production company Reeves Entertainment. FremantleMedia bought a share of the Canadian video game development company Ludia in October 2010. The Pet Collective was Launched online in April 2012, and is a producer of animal-friendly content that celebrates the connection between animals and their human companions. On January 30,2014, FremantleMedia was in negotiations to acquire rival All3Media, on March 26,2014, FremantleMedia acquired a 75% stake in 495 Productions, with an option to acquire the remaining 25% in the near future. FremantleMedias US production & distribution division is FremantleMedia North America,495 Productions has specialized in developing programs. In November 2011, it was announced that FremantleMedia were to reorganise the British operations from 1 January 2012, talkback Thames brand would be split into four different labels within the newly created FremantleMedia UK production arm, Boundless for factual programming. FremantleMedias old Website FremantleMedias 2nd original website FremantleMedias original Website FremantleMedias website FremantleMedia Australias website

14.
19 Entertainment
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19 Entertainment is a producer of entertainment properties for television with a focus on music. 19 Entertainment is also responsible for the production of So You Think You Can Dance, founded in London, England in 1985,19 Entertainment moved their headquarters to Los Angeles, United States, in 2010. In 2009 the company announced the purchase of London based Storm Model Management and this business was sold back to Storms management in 2013, ending the firms activities in fashion. In March 2005,19 Entertainment founder Simon Fuller sold the company to Robert Sillermans CKX, Inc. in a cash, subsequent to the deal Fuller remained in his role as CEO of 19 Entertainment and added the new role of director of CKX. Following this, CKX announced its intention to shift 19 to becoming a US business focusing solely on American Idol, 19s old Headquarters in Battersea, London became the headquarters for Simon Fullers new business, XIX, while the base for 19 Entertainment was transferred to Los Angeles. In September 2010 much of 19s non- American Idol business was sold to Simon Fullers new business XIX Entertainment. This included 19s non-Idol management clients such as David and Victoria Beckham, Andy Murray, Annie Lennox, The Spice Girls, Lewis Hamilton, S Club 7, Carrie Underwood, David Cook, also transferred to XIX Entertainment were Roland Mouret and Victoria Beckhams fashion businesses. So You Think You Can Dance Miami 7 L. A.7 S Club 7 Go Wild, Simon Fuller Core Media Group website

15.
Fox Broadcasting Company
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The Fox Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television network that is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. It is the third largest major network in the world based on total revenues, assets. Launched on October 9,1986 as a competitor to the Big Three television networks, Fox and its affiliated companies operate many entertainment channels in international markets, although these do not necessarily air the same programming as the U. S. network. Most viewers in Canada have access to at least one U. S, the network is named after sister company 20th Century Fox, and indirectly for producer William Fox, who founded one of the movie studios predecessors, Fox Film. Fox is a member of the North American Broadcasters Association and the National Association of Broadcasters, 20th Century Fox had been involved in television production as early as the 1950s, producing several syndicated programs. Following the demise of the DuMont Television Network in August of that year after it became mired in financial problems. 20th Century Fox would also produce original content for the NTA network, KTTV in Los Angeles, KRIV in Houston, WFLD-TV in Chicago, and KRLD-TV in Dallas. In October 1985, 20th Century Fox announced its intentions to form a television network that would compete with ABC, CBS. The plans were to use the combination of the Fox studios, organizational plans for the network were held off until the Metromedia acquisitions cleared regulatory hurdles. Then, in December 1985, Rupert Murdoch agreed to pay $325 million to acquire the remaining equity in TCF Holdings from his original partner, Marvin Davis. These first six stations, then broadcasting to a reach of 22% of the nations households. Except for KDAF, all of the original owned-and-operated stations are part of the Fox network today. Like the core O&O group, Foxs affiliate body consisted of independent stations. The Fox Broadcasting Company launched at 11,00 p. m. Eastern and its inaugural program was a late-night talk show, The Late Show, which was hosted by comedian Joan Rivers. By early 1987, Rivers quit The Late Show after disagreements with the network over the creative direction. The network expanded its programming into prime time on April 5,1987, with Children and the sketch comedy series The Tracey Ullman Show. Fox added one new show per week over the several weeks, with the drama 21 Jump Street. On July 11, the network rolled out its Saturday night schedule with the premiere of the drama series Werewolf

16.
NTSC
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The first NTSC standard was developed in 1941 and had no provision for color. In 1953 a second NTSC standard was adopted, which allowed for television broadcasting which was compatible with the existing stock of black-and-white receivers. NTSC was the first widely adopted broadcast color system and remained dominant until 1997, North America, parts of Central America, and South Korea are adopting or have adopted the ATSC standards, while other countries are adopting or have adopted other standards instead of ATSC. After nearly 70 years, the majority of over-the-air NTSC transmissions in the United States ceased on January 1,2010, the majority of NTSC transmissions ended in Japan on July 24,2011, with the Japanese prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima ending the next year. In March 1941, the committee issued a standard for black-and-white television that built upon a 1936 recommendation made by the Radio Manufacturers Association. Technical advancements of the side band technique allowed for the opportunity to increase the image resolution. The NTSC selected 525 scan lines as a compromise between RCAs 441-scan line standard and Philcos and DuMonts desire to increase the number of lines to between 605 and 800. The standard recommended a frame rate of 30 frames per second, other standards in the final recommendation were an aspect ratio of 4,3, and frequency modulation for the sound signal. In January 1950, the committee was reconstituted to standardize color television, in December 1953, it unanimously approved what is now called the NTSC color television standard. The compatible color standard retained full backward compatibility with existing black-and-white television sets, Color information was added to the black-and-white image by introducing a color subcarrier of precisely 315/88 MHz. These changes amounted to 0.1 percent and were tolerated by existing television receivers. The FCC had briefly approved a different color standard, starting in October 1950. However, this standard was incompatible with black-and-white broadcasts and it used a rotating color wheel, reduced the number of scan lines from 525 to 405, and increased the field rate from 60 to 144, but had an effective frame rate of only 24 frames per second. CBS rescinded its system in March 1953, and the FCC replaced it on December 17,1953, with the NTSC color standard, later that year, the improved TK-41 became the standard camera used throughout much of the 1960s. The NTSC standard has been adopted by countries, including most of the Americas. With the advent of television, analog broadcasts are being phased out. Most US NTSC broadcasters were required by the FCC to shut down their analog transmitters in 2009, low-power stations, Class A stations and translators were required to shut down by 2015. NTSC color encoding is used with the System M television signal, each frame is composed of two fields, each consisting of 262.5 scan lines, for a total of 525 scan lines

17.
720p
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720p is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines and an aspect ratio of 16,9, normally known as widescreen HDTV. The number 720 stands for the 720 horizontal scan lines of display resolution. The p stands for progressive scan, i. e. non-interlaced, when broadcast at 60 frames per second, 720p features the highest temporal resolution possible under the ATSC and DVB standards. The term assumes a widescreen ratio of 16,9. 720i is a term found in numerous sources and publications. Typically, it is an error in which the author is referring to the 720p HDTV format. However, in cases it is incorrectly presented as an actual alternative format to 720p. No proposed or existing broadcast standard permits 720 interlaced lines in a frame at any frame rate. Progressive scanning reduces the need to prevent flicker by anti-aliasing single high contrast horizontal lines and it is also easier to perform high-quality 50↔60 Hz conversion and slow-motion clips with progressive video. A 720p60 video has advantage over 480i and 1080i60 in that it reduces the number of 3,2 artifacts introduced during transfer from 24 frame/s film. However, 576i and 1080i50, which are common in Europe, generally do not suffer from pull down artifacts as film frames are simply played at 25 frames and the audio pitch corrected by 25/24ths. As a result, 720p60 is used for U. S. broadcasts while European HD broadcasts often use 1080i50 24* frame, arte, a dual-language French-German channel produced in collaboration by ARD, ZDF and France Télévisions, broadcasts in German at 720p50 but in French at 1080i50. EBU Technical paper on HDTV formats

18.
FremantleMedia North America
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FremantleMedia Group Limited is a British international television content and production/distribution subsidiary of Bertelsmanns RTL Group, Europes largest TV, radio, and production company. Its world headquarters are located in London, early on, it merged with Germanys largest television production company, UFA. The company holds the rights to such as Lets Make a Deal, Family Feud. Fremantle also produced Temptation and an interactive gameshow Quizmania for ITV Play and they own the rights to most of the post 1948 Bob Hope film catalog that includes The Seven Little Foys, The Lemon Drop Kid, and Son of Paleface. They were also the distributors of the television series Baywatch, currently, they hold rights to the game Brain Wall, more commonly known as Hole in the Wall in over 20 countries. In other countries, they own the rights to Betty La Fea in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Sara in Belgium. FremantleMedia also holds international rights to the Threes Company franchise. The company also owns the catalog of the American TV production company Reeves Entertainment. FremantleMedia bought a share of the Canadian video game development company Ludia in October 2010. The Pet Collective was Launched online in April 2012, and is a producer of animal-friendly content that celebrates the connection between animals and their human companions. On January 30,2014, FremantleMedia was in negotiations to acquire rival All3Media, on March 26,2014, FremantleMedia acquired a 75% stake in 495 Productions, with an option to acquire the remaining 25% in the near future. FremantleMedias US production & distribution division is FremantleMedia North America,495 Productions has specialized in developing programs. In November 2011, it was announced that FremantleMedia were to reorganise the British operations from 1 January 2012, talkback Thames brand would be split into four different labels within the newly created FremantleMedia UK production arm, Boundless for factual programming. FremantleMedias old Website FremantleMedias 2nd original website FremantleMedias original Website FremantleMedias website FremantleMedia Australias website

19.
American Broadcasting Company
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The network is headquartered on Columbus Avenue and West 66th Street in Manhattan, New York City. There are additional offices and production facilities elsewhere in New York City, as well as in Los Angeles and Burbank. Since 2007, when ABC Radio was sold to Citadel Broadcasting, ABC originally launched on October 12,1943, as a radio network, separated from and serving as the successor to the NBC Blue Network, which had been purchased by Edward J. Noble. It extended its operations to television in 1948, following in the footsteps of established broadcast networks CBS, in the mid-1950s, ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, a chain of movie theaters that formerly operated as a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. Leonard Goldenson, who had been the head of UPT, made the new television network profitable by helping develop, in 1996, most of Capital Cities/ABCs assets were purchased by The Walt Disney Company. The television network has eight owned-and-operated and over 232 affiliated television stations throughout the United States, most Canadians have access to at least one U. S. ABC News provides news and features content for radio stations owned by Citadel Broadcasting. In the 1930s, radio in the United States was dominated by three companies, the Columbia Broadcasting System, the Mutual Broadcasting System and the National Broadcasting Company. The last was owned by electronics manufacturer Radio Corporation of America, in 1938, the FCC began a series of investigations into the practices of radio networks and published its report on the broadcasting of network radio programs in 1940. The report recommended that RCA give up control of either NBC Red or NBC Blue, at that time, the NBC Red Network was the principal radio network in the United States and, according to the FCC, RCA was using NBC Blue to eliminate any hint of competition. Once Mutuals appeals against the FCC were rejected, RCA decided to sell NBC Blue in 1941, the newly separated NBC Red and NBC Blue divided their respective corporate assets. Investment firm Dillon, Read & Co. offered $7.5 million to purchase the network, Edward John Noble, the owner of Life Savers candy, drugstore chain Rexall and New York City radio station WMCA, purchased the network for $8 million. Due to FCC ownership rules, the transaction, which was to include the purchase of three RCA stations by Noble, would require him to resell his station with the FCCs approval, the Commission authorized the transaction on October 12,1943. Soon afterward, the Blue Network was purchased by the new company Noble founded, Noble subsequently acquired the rights to the American Broadcasting Company name from George B. Meanwhile, in August 1944, the West Coast division of the Blue Network, both stations were then managed by Don Searle, the vice-president of the Blue Networks West Coast division. The ABC Radio Network created its audience slowly, the network also became known for such suspenseful dramas as Sherlock Holmes, Gang Busters and Counterspy, as well as several mid-afternoon youth-oriented programs. S. From Nazi Germany after its conquest, to pre-record its programming, while its radio network was undergoing reconstruction, ABC found it difficult to avoid falling behind on the new medium of television. To ensure a space, in 1947, ABC submitted five applications for television station licenses, the ABC television network made its debut on April 19,1948, with WFIL-TV in Philadelphia becoming its first primary affiliate

20.
Idols (TV series)
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Idols is a reality television-music competition format created by British television producer Simon Fuller and developed by FremantleMedia. The format began in 2001 with the British television series Pop Idol, an estimated 6.5 billion viewers around the world have watched variants of the show. Each season, the aims to find the most outstanding unsigned solo recording artist in a region. Originally aimed for pop singers, the series have evolved to accept singers from different genres of music, such as rock, R&B. Through a series of auditions, a group of finalists were selected by a panel of judges who will offer their critiques on their performances. The finalists then advance to the live shows where the finalist who receives the least amount of votes by television audience get eliminated. A grand finale occurs when two or three finalists were left where the winner is declared based on the largest percentage of votes, the winner receives a recording contract, monetary prizes, and a title as their nations Idol, SuperStar or Star. Contestants who did not win but have gone on to prominence include Anthony Callea of Australia, Jacob Hoggard and Carly Rae Jepsen of Canada. Some Idols contestants have achieved success in acting and musical theater. In 2001, British talent manager and television producer Simon Fuller created the British television series Pop Idol, the series was developed by production company FremantleMedia and was broadcast on ITV on 6 October 2001. The first series of Pop Idol proved to be more popular than Popstars, in due to the chemistry of the judges. Pop Idols success led to an interest for adaptations in other countries, as such, Poland, the first country to adapt the format, named their version as simply Idol. Idol was launched in 2002, months after the first series of Pop Idol ended, Fuller, Lythgoe, and Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell attempted to sell the format in the United States in 2001, but the idea was met with poor response from major networks. Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch, persuaded her father to buy the rights for an American adaptation, the series, American Idol, The Search for a Superstar, debuted on the Fox network on 11 June 2002. American Idol also featured Cowell as its judge, who proved to be popular among the American audiences. American Idol quickly rose to the top of the U. S. TV ratings, due to the popularity of the judges and its contestants, which were led by its first winner, Kelly Clarkson. The success brought by American Idol led to even more adaptations in other countries, the show is a reality television singing competition where the winner is selected by the audience voting. An important element is audience participation, where the audience may vote by telephone or text to decide which contestant can proceed further each week, each show has at least one host that directs the show, introduces the singers and delivers the results of each episode including the finale

21.
Pop Idol
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Pop Idol is a British television music competition created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new pop singer in the UK based on viewer voting. Two series were broadcast—one in 2001–2002 and a second in 2003, Pop Idol was subsequently put on an indefinite hiatus after series judge Simon Cowell announced the launch of The X Factor in the UK in April 2004. The show has become an international TV franchise since, spawning multiple Idol series worldwide, the final of the first series of Pop Idol in February 2002 received the highest-ever one-night vote for a UK TV show, making the show one of ITVs most profitable. The sister show on ITV2, Pop Idol Extra, hosted by Kate Thornton also made use of mobile phone text messages to raise additional revenue. The first Pop Idol received very high voting figures despite allowing only telephone and Internet voting, the Saturday night primetime show initially followed the audition process, as hopefuls sang before four judges at various locations around the UK. Besides the successful auditionees, the poorest singers were often aired due to their obvious lack of talent or presence, poor singers often faced harsh criticisms from the judges, especially from Simon Cowell. The viewing public quickly fell in love with the format though, the judges policy of speaking candidly would have to be sanitised in series 2, however, as it received condemnation from MPs. Once the first round of auditions were completed, the moved to the Criterion Theatre. Unusually, this was the point at which the judges had direct control over the contestants fates. Stage 3 of the series place in a conventional TV studio. The 50 contestants were split into five groups of ten, each of whom sang one song for the judges, each judge offered their opinion, and at the end of the pre-recorded show phone lines opened for votes. Later the same evening a live show followed in which the results were revealed. In series 2, a round was added, in which the judges selected ten rejected contestants. In this special edition, one contestant, Susanne Manning, was selected by the viewer vote and this meant that the next stage began with twelve contestants, rather than the ten in series 1. For the final stage, the moved to a more lavish TV set. Most editions had a theme, with singing songs from a particular genre or artist. Again, the judges offered comments, but the results were decided by viewer voting, exceptions to the usual format were limited

22.
Television in the United States
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Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. The peak ownership percentage of households with at least one television set occurred during the 1996–97 season, individual broadcast television stations in the U. S. transmit on either VHF channels 2 through 13 or UHF channels 14 through 51. Over-the-air and subscription television networks, however, are not required to file for a license to operate, channels are usually sold in groups, rather than singularly. A la carte subscription services in the U. S, the United States has a decentralized, market-oriented television system, particularly in regard to broadcast television. The nation has a public television service known as the Public Broadcasting Service. Local media markets have their own stations, which may either be affiliated with or owned and operated by a television network. Arrangements in which television stations carried more than one network on its main signal were more common between the 1940s and the 1960s, although some continued as late as 2010. However unlike in other countries, to ensure local presences in television broadcasting, the international programming model is used in the U. S. The five major U. S. broadcast television networks are the National Broadcasting Company, CBS, the American Broadcasting Company, the Fox Broadcasting Company and the CW Television Network. The first and elder three began as radio networks, NBC and CBS respectively began operations in 1924 and 1927, weekday schedules on ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates tend to be similar, with programming choices sorted by dayparts. Network daytime schedules consist of shows and soap operas, although one network – CBS – still carries game shows. Syndicated talk shows are shown in the afternoon, followed by additional local newscasts in the early evening time period. ABC, CBS and NBC offer network news programs each evening, local newscasts or syndicated programs fill the prime access hour or half-hour, and lead into the networks prime time schedules, which are the days most-watched three hours of television. The traditional prime time runs from 8,00 to 11,00 p. m. in the Eastern. Hour and leave that hour for their affiliates to provide programming of their own, later in the evening, drama series of various types air. Sunday is the night on American television, with many of TVs most popular shows airing on that night. At the end of time, another local news program is broadcast. Saturday mornings usually feature network programming aimed at children, while Sunday mornings include a form of public affairs program known as the Sunday morning talk shows, both of these help fulfill stations legal obligations, respectively to provide educational childrens programs and public service programming

23.
Short message service
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Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of most telephone, World Wide Web, and mobile telephony systems. It uses standardized protocols to enable mobile phone devices to exchange short text messages. SMS, as used on modern handsets, originated from radio telegraphy in radio memo pagers that used standardized phone protocols and these were defined in 1985 as part of the Global System for Mobile Communications series of standards. The protocols allowed users to send and receive messages of up to 160 alpha-numeric characters to, though most SMS messages are mobile-to-mobile text messages, support for the service has expanded to include other mobile technologies, such as ANSI CDMA networks and Digital AMPS. SMS is also employed in marketing, a type of direct marketing. Adding text messaging functionality to mobile devices began in the early 1980s, the first action plan of the CEPT Group GSM was approved in December 1982, requesting that, The services and facilities offered in the public switched telephone networks and public data networks. Should be available in the mobile system and this plan included the exchange of text messages either directly between mobile stations, or transmitted via message handling systems in use at that time. The SMS concept was developed in the Franco-German GSM cooperation in 1984 by Friedhelm Hillebrand, the GSM is optimized for telephony, since this was identified as its main application. In this way, unused resources in the system could be used to transport messages at minimal cost, however, it was necessary to limit the length of the messages to 128 bytes so that the messages could fit into the existing signalling formats. Based on his observations and on analysis of the typical lengths of postcard and Telex messages. SMS could be implemented in every mobile station by updating its software, hence, a large base of SMS-capable terminals and networks existed when people began to use SMS. The technical development of SMS was a multinational collaboration supporting the framework of standards bodies, through these organizations the technology was made freely available to the whole world. The first proposal which initiated the development of SMS was made by a contribution of Germany and this proposal was further elaborated in GSM subgroup WP1 Services based on a contribution from Germany. There were also discussions in the subgroup WP3 network aspects chaired by Jan Audestad. The result was approved by the main GSM group in a June 85 document which was distributed to industry, the input documents on SMS had been prepared by Friedhelm Hillebrand with contributions from Bernard Ghillebaert. The last three words transformed SMS into something more useful than the prevailing messaging paging that some in GSM might have had in mind. SMS was considered in the main GSM group as a service for the new digital cellular system. In GSM document Services and Facilities to be provided in the GSM System, the discussions on the GSM services were concluded in the recommendation GSM02.03 TeleServices supported by a GSM PLMN

24.
Kelly Clarkson
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Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in 2002 after winning the first season of American Idol, Clarksons debut single, A Moment Like This, topped the Billboard Hot 100 and became the best-selling single of 2002 in the U. S. It was followed with her studio album, Thankful, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Trying to reinvent her own image, Clarkson decided to part ways with American Idol management and developed a pop sound for her second album. It sold over 15 million copies worldwide and earned Clarkson two Grammy Awards and she took further creative control for her third album, My December, by becoming the executive producer and co-writing the entire material. However, it caused feud with her label, that was dissatisfied with her darker, less commercial rock music, Clarkson returned to the top of the charts with her more mainstream-oriented fourth album, All I Ever Wanted. Its lead single, My Life Would Suck Without You, holds the record for the biggest jump to one on the Billboard Hot 100. She scored another Hot 100 number-one single with Stronger from her studio album. Clarkson also became the first act to win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album twice. Her sixth studio album and first Christmas record, Wrapped in Red, ended up as the holiday album of the year. Her seventh and final album under RCA, Piece by Piece, was her album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. Its title track became her eleventh single on the Hot 100. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2016 and has prepared a soul-influenced album for a 2017 release, Clarkson has sold over 70 million records worldwide and scored a total of 100 number ones on the Billboard charts. Her accolades include three Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, four American Music Awards, and two Academy of Country Music Awards. Often called one of the best vocalists in the industry, Clarkson is known for her powerhouse voice and she became the first artist in history to top each of Billboards pop, adult contemporary, country and dance charts. She was ranked nineteenth on VH1s list of 100 Greatest Women in Music, Clarkson has also ventured into television and film, as well as writing childrens book. Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Jeanne Ann, a first-grade English teacher, and Stephen Michael Clarkson and she is the youngest of three children with a brother named Jason and a sister named Alyssa. Clarkson also has two half brothers from her fathers second marriage

25.
Ruben Studdard
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Christopher Ruben Studdard, is an American R&B, pop and gospel singer. He rose to fame as winner of the season of American Idol. In the years following Idol, Studdard has released six albums, including his platinum-selling debut, Soulful. He is most well known for his career, which has produced hits including Flying Without Wings, Sorry 2004, and Change Me. Studdard most recently appeared on the season of The Biggest Loser. He is signed to Verve Records and released his newest album, Unconditional Love, Studdard was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to American parents, while his father was stationed there with the U. S. Army, and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. The youngest son of two teachers, at the age of three, he sang for the first time at the Rising Star Baptist Church in his hometown of Birmingham and he continued singing gospel in church, performing solos as a child while his mother sang in the local choir. While at Huffman High School, he played football for which he received a scholarship to Alabama A&M University, while at Alabama A&M he joined the Omicron Delta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the mens music fraternity of America. After growing up listening to his mothers Donny Hathaway albums, Fred Hammond and he sang with Just a Few Cats, a popular local Birmingham jazz and R&B band founded by members of Ray Reachs UAB Jazz Ensemble, along with other local musicians. Years later, Studdard stated, A lot of people dont realize how hard I was trying to get into the business before American Idol, I was making demos and just working so hard. A back-up singer from Just a Few Cats asked him to accompany her to Nashville, when auditioning, Studdard sang Stevie Wonders Ribbon in the Sky. This guided him to being one of the local finalists, during the televised competition, Studdard gained the nickname Velvet Teddy Bear and was noted for his shirts printed with 205, the telephone area code of his hometown of Birmingham. Studdard also did a version of For All We Know, originally recorded by Donny Hathaway. He won the contest over runner-up Clay Aiken by only 134,000 votes out of 24,000,000 cast in the May 2003 finale, Alabama Governor Bob Riley declared March 11,2003 as Ruben Studdard Day. ^Note 1 Due to Corey Clarks disqualification, the Top 9 performances became Top 8 when no one was eliminated, ^Note 2 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Studdard was among the Bottom 2 but declared safe, as Trenyce was eliminated. Studdard released his first single, a cover of Westlifes Flying Without Wings, produced by The Underdogs and Babyface, fueled largely by sales, it debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. In December 2003, advance orders for his album Soulful topped the one million mark before it was released into stores, the single Sorry 2004 from this album found substantial airplay, reaching number nine in the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Studdard received a Grammy Award nomination in December 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for Superstar, in March 2004, Ruben won the NAACP Outstanding New Artist award

26.
Fantasia Barrino
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Fantasia Monique Taylor, known professionally by her mononym Fantasia, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the season of the reality television series American Idol in 2004. Following her victory, she released her single, I Believe. Subsequently, she released her album, Free Yourself, which went on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA. In 2006, she released her album, Fantasia, which featured the single When I See U which topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for eight weeks. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA and received three Grammy nominations in 2008 and she then played the part of Celie in the Broadway musical The Color Purple, for which she won a 2007 Theatre World Award. Her third studio album, Back to Me, was released worldwide on August 24,2010 and features the single Bittersweet, the single won her a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. As of February 2012, Taylor has sold 2,842,000 albums and 1,425,000 tracks in the United States, in 2012, VH1 ranked her number 32 out of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. On April 18,2013, Taylor returned to American Idol singing Lose to Win, the performance dubbed dynamic, passionate and powerful won her fervent expressions of approval from the shows current judges and a wild ovation from the live audience. Moreover, she has received reviews in the media for the performance. In November 2013, Taylor returned to Broadway in the musical After Midnight, on October 16,2014, she was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Taylor has been nicknamed Baby Patti LaBelle by her idol Patti LaBelle, Fantasia Taylor was born Fantasia Barrino to Diane and Joseph Barrino and raised in High Point, North Carolina. She began singing at the age of five, Taylor cites Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle and Tina Turner as her biggest musical influences. R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo, formerly of Jodeci, are her first cousins and her uncles, The Barrino Brothers, were a 1970s R&B band. Despite the travels, she attended Andrews High School in High Point, feeling embarrassed and harassed after she was raped by a classmate, she dropped out of high school. She became pregnant at 16, and on August 8,2001, gave birth to her daughter, Zion Quari Barrino with her ex-boyfriend, Brandel Shouse. On the finale, over 65 million votes were cast in order to determine the winner on May 26,2004, Taylor defeated runner-up Diana DeGarmo by 1.3 million votes. At age 19, she was the youngest American Idol winner until May 23,2007, when then 17-year-old Jordin Sparks won the title

27.
Carrie Underwood
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Carrie Marie Underwood is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the season of American Idol in 2005. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was released in 2005, Underwood won three Grammy Awards for the album, including Best New Artist. Released in 2007, her album, Carnival Ride, had one of the biggest ever opening weeks by a female artist. Her next album, 2009s Play On, was a commercial success led by the single Cowboy Casanova, Underwoods fourth album, Blown Away, earned her a Grammy Award and was that years second best-selling release by a female artist. Her first compilation album was a chart and sales success and earned her a Grammy Award and her fifth album, Storyteller, made her the only country artist to have all first five studio albums reach either numbers one or two on the Billboard 200. Considered one of the most successful artists in any musical genre, Billboard has referred to her as Country Musics reigning Queen, while Time listed her as one of their 100 most influential people in the world in 2014. Underwood is the top country artist of all-time on the RIAAs Digital Singles ranking, Underwood is the biggest American Idol earner in the history of the show. Her album, Some Hearts was named the country album of the 2000s by Billboard. Underwood has been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and she has earned numerous accolades, including 7 Grammy Awards,17 Billboard Music Awards, and 11 American Music Awards. Underwood was born March 10,1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, to Carole and she was raised on her parents farm in the nearby rural town of Checotah. Her father worked in a sawmill while her mother taught elementary school and she has two older sisters, Shanna and Stephanie. During her childhood, Underwood performed at Robbins Memorial Talent Show and she later sang for local events in Checotah, including Old Settlers Day and the Lions Club. A local admirer arranged for her to go to Nashville when she was 14 to audition for Capitol Records, in 1996, Capitol Records was preparing a contract for Underwood but canceled it when company management changed. Underwood said of the event, I honestly think its a lot better that nothing out of it now. Everything has a way of working out, while at Checotah High School, she was an Honor Society member, a cheerleader, and played basketball and softball. Underwood graduated from Checotah High School in 2001 as salutatorian and she chose not to pursue singing after graduation. She said, After high school, I pretty much gave up on the dream of singing, I had reached a point in my life where I had to be practical and prepare for my future in the real world

28.
Taylor Hicks
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Taylor Reuben Hicks is an American singer who won the fifth season of American Idol. Upon winning Idol, he was signed to Arista Records, under which his self-titled major label debut was released on December 12,2006. His energetic stage performances and influences derived from rock, blues, and R&B music had earned him a following of devout fans. He performed on Broadway in 2008 and on tour in 2009 in Grease playing Teen Angel. The new CD, The Distance, was released March 10,2009, with the first single, Whats Right Is Right, the second single was confirmed to be Seven Mile Breakdown via his Myspace page. In May 2011, Taylor Hicks opened ORE Drink and Dine restaurant in Birmingham, Birmingham Magazine readers voted ORE as Birmingham’s “Best New Restaurant” in the fall of 2011. ORE Drink and Dine re-opened as Saws Juke Joint, a barbecue and live music bar, on June 14,2011, Taylor Hicks performed at Bama Rising, A Benefit Concert For Alabama Tornado Recovery at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center. According to Billboard, the Bama Rising benefit concert raised an estimated $2.2 million for Alabama tornado relief efforts, on August 30,2012, Taylor Hicks performed Takin It to the Streets at the closing night of the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Hicks is the first Idol winner to secure a long-term residency in Las Vegas and he began his residency at Ballys Las Vegas in June 2012 and moved to a larger venue, Paris Las Vegas, in January 2013. Taylor Hicks was born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 7,1976, to Bradley Hicks and he and his family moved to the suburb of Hoover when he was eight years old. His hair started turning gray by the time he was 14 and his parents divorced, and stepmother Linda shared custody of their son until he became of age. Hicks has suggested his difficult childhood as the reason for his turning to soul and he has a younger half-brother, Sean, who later convinced him to audition for American Idol. He bought his first harmonica when he was 16, for $2 at a market in Bessemer, Alabama. He discovered that he possessed perfect pitch when he was able to recognize the pitches of ordinary noises, Hicks was 18 when he wrote his first song, In Your Time, and he taught himself to play electric guitar when he was 19. Hicks graduated from Hoover High School in 1995 and he played varsity baseball, soccer, and basketball while studying in Hoover. He then pursued a major in business and journalism at Auburn University, while in college, Hicks was part of a band called Passing Through, which he later quit to start his own band. In 1997, he independently recorded In Your Time, an album which included both studio and live tracks and he left Nashville after a year due to what he called the oversaturation of the market. Hicks has performed with the likes of Widespread Panic, James Brown, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Drive-By Truckers, Robert Randolph, Snoop Dogg and he also performed in the huge infield of Talladega Superspeedway in 2004 during a NASCAR race weekend

29.
Jordin Sparks
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Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the season of American Idol, at age 17. Her self-titled debut studio album, released later that year, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold two million copies worldwide. The song earned Sparks her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, Sparks second studio album, Battlefield, debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200 chart. Its lead single, Battlefield, reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, the second single, S. O. S. became Sparks first number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Throughout her career, Sparks has won awards, including an NAACP Image Award, a BET Award, an American Music Award. In 2009, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 91st Artist of the 2000s Decade, in 2012, Sparks was ranked at number 92 on VH1s list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. As of February 2012, she has sold 1.3 million albums and 10.2 million singles in the United States alone, following the release of Battlefield, Sparks branched out from recording music, pursuing careers in acting and Broadway, and designing perfumes. She made guest appearances on television series, beginning with The Suite Life on Deck in 2009. That year, Sparks made her Broadway debut in the musical In The Heights and she made her feature film debut in the musical film Sparkle. In October 2010, Sparks released her first perfume, Because of You, which was followed by her second perfume, Fascinate, in March 2012, with her third perfume, Ambition, in November 2012. After a five-year solo music hiatus, Sparks released her first mixtape, the release of the mixtape marks the first release under Sparks new recording deal with Louder than Life/Red Associated Labels, a joint deal with Sony Music Entertainment. Sparks third studio album, Right Here Right Now, was released in August 2015, Sparks was born in Phoenix, Arizona, to Jodi Sparks and former professional football player Phillippi Sparks. Sparks has a brother, Phillippi PJ Sparks, Jr. who plays football at Arizona Christian University. Her father is African-American and her mother is Caucasian and she grew up in the suburbs of Ridgewood, New Jersey, while her father played as a defensive back for the New York Giants. After living in New Jersey, Sparks attended Northwest Community Christian School in Phoenix through the eighth grade, Sparks attended Sandra Day OConnor High School until 2006 when she was homeschooled to better concentrate on her singing. Sparks is an evangelical Christian and attends Calvary Community Church in Phoenix, on her American Idol biography, she thanks her parents and God for her win. She won an award for best young artist of the year in Arizona three years in a row, prior to Idol, Sparks frequently performed the national anthem at various local sporting events, notably for the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals, and Arizona Diamondbacks

30.
David Cook (singer)
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David Roland Cook is an American rock singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of American Idol in 2008. Prior to Idol he released an independent album entitled Analog Heart and this was followed by his post-Idol major-label debut David Cook which was released on November 18,2008 and has since been certified platinum by the RIAA. His second major album This Loud Morning was released on June 28,2011 and his third post American Idol and fourth overall studio album Digital Vein was released on September 18,2015. Cook was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Blue Springs and his parents are Beth Foraker and Stanley Cook. He is the middle of three brothers – the late Adam Cook being older and Andrew younger and he is of German, Irish, and English descent. Cooks interest in music began at a young age and he began singing in second grade, when his elementary school music teacher, Mrs. Gentry, gave him a part in a school Christmas performance. He proceeded to perform in virtually every Christmas and PTA program and he received his first guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, at the age of 13. He also participated in choir and drama programs in middle school, at Blue Springs South High School, he performed in musicals, including The Music Man, West Side Story, and Singin in the Rain. He graduated from Blue Springs South High School in 2001 and he was also an avid baseball player during high school and once gave up a home run to Albert Pujols in an American Legion Baseball game. After an injury, he focused more on music and he earned a theater scholarship to the University of Central Missouri, but he abandoned theater after two semesters, graduating from the school in 2006 with a degree in graphic design. While in college, he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa, after his college graduation, he relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma to pursue a career in music, telling his mother, I just want to give myself until Im 26 years old to get a job. David Cook formed a band with his friend Bobby Kerr while at high school, the band was initially named Red Eye, later changed to Axium. He wrote his first song, titled Red Hot, when he was fifteen. He was encouraged by Evan Sula-Goff of 8stops7 to make an album when he went to Cooks school to judge a contest, Mr. Jaguar, contest as well as the best Kansas City band in 2004. The band produced three studio albums – Matter of Time, Blindsided, and The Story Thus Far, as well as a number of albums including Alive in Tulsa. Axium however broke up in 2006 and David Cook moved to Tulsa where he joined Midwest Kings and he was the bassist for their EP Incoherent With Desire to Move On. Members of that band Andy Skib and Neal Tiemann later became part of David Cooks post-Idol band The Anthemic and he recorded and self-released a solo album Analog Heart in 2006. He had also recorded his solo album prior to appearing on Idol

31.
Kris Allen
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Kristopher Neil Kris Allen is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, he self-released a 2007 album entitled Brand New Shoes, Allens Idol coronation song, No Boundaries and his version of Heartless both charted within the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Allens post-Idol self-titled album was released on November 17,2009, the album debuted at number eleven on the U. S. Billboard 200. The albums lead single, Live Like Were Dying, was released on September 21,2009, Allens second major-label album Thank You Camellia was released on May 22,2012, and the lead single The Vision of Love was released March 26,2012. Allen released his studio album, Letting You In, on March 18,2016. Allen was born in Jacksonville, Arkansas, to Kimberly and Neil Allen and he is the elder of two sons, his younger brother, Daniel, is a college cheerleading coach. Allens interest in music very early. Additionally, he himself to play the guitar at age 13. His musical influences, as stated in his Idol confessionals, include the Beatles, Jamie Cullum, Jason Mraz, Pat Monahan, John Mayer, Allen played publicly for several years before trying out for Idol, even opening for earlier Idol contestant Sean Michel on multiple occasions. He has described his decision to audition for American Idol as a last hurrah before giving up his pursuit of a music career. After high school, Allen moved to Conway, Arkansas, to attend the University of Central Arkansas, where he was a business major and a member of Chi Alpha campus ministries. During college, he participated in Christian missionary work around the world, including in Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, South Africa, Spain and Thailand. Allen also served as a leader for New Life Church in Conway and Little Rock, AR. He dropped out of college in the middle of his year to pursue music professionally, performing in local bars. Allen planned to go back to college to finish his degree and get a real job, Kris stated that If I had not made it through in American Idol, I would have gone back to college and gotten my business degree. Allen realized during college that he wanted to play music professionally and he worked as a shoe salesman at a sporting goods store during the day to make ends meet and continued playing gigs in Little Rock and Fayetteville at night. In 2007, Allen wrote and self-produced an album entitled Brand New Shoes with college friends and bandmates Michael Holmes and Chase Erwin. The albums title makes reference to Allens days as a shoe salesman, Allen auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in Louisville, Kentucky, with his brother Daniel, who did not make it to Hollywood

32.
Lee DeWyze
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Leon James Lee DeWyze, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter from Mount Prospect, Illinois, and the winner of the ninth season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, DeWyze had a career and formed the Lee DeWyze Band. He had also released two independent albums called So Im Told in 2007 and Slumberland in 2010, both on WuLi Records and his first post-Idol album Live It Up was released on November 16,2010, through RCA Records. WuLi Records, citing demand from DeWyzes fan base, released an album of pre-Idol recordings, What Once Was. His fifth studio album Frames was released on August 20,2013, DeWyze was born in Mount Prospect, Illinois, the eldest son of Kathleen and Leon DeWyze, Sr. who worked as a postal carrier in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. He has two sisters, Shannon and Sarah, and a younger brother, Michael. His musical influences include Cat Stevens, Eric Clapton, Ben Harper, after leaving Prospect High, he attended Forest View Alternative School in Arlington Heights, having been inspired both by his teachers and his interest in music to return to his studies. While he never graduated from high school, he eventually got his GED. After expulsion from school, DeWyze worked as a paint salesman. The store continued to him during his American Idol run by selling tee shirts encouraging fans to vote for Lee. DeWyze started singing at an age and was discovered by Louis Svitek. Svitek signed DeWyze to WuLi Records, the independent record label he runs with Ryan McGuire in Chicago, dewyze formed the Lee DeWyze Band with Svitek, McGuire and Jeff Henderson. DeWyze recorded two albums, So Im Told and Slumberland, both produced by Ryan McGuire, WuLi released a remixed and remastered edition of So Im Told in 2010. In 2008, as a favor to band member Jeff Henderson, DeWyze and the recorded a disc for Square One Organic Baby Food Company. DeWyze recorded six songs on the Square One Organic promotional CD, as a result of touring in the area and performing at many venues, DeWyze and his bands music were known locally, even getting radio play on WXRT long before he auditioned for American Idol. The Lee DeWyze Band was featured on a television sports program, The Chicago Huddle, hosted by ABC 7s Ryan Chiaverini. DeWyze also had a role in 2005 in a low-budget short horror film, Circling the Drain and in 2006, Deadscapes. He played one of a trio of survivors in a land overrun with the undead and he auditioned with the song Aint No Sunshine

33.
Scotty McCreery
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Scott Cooke Scotty McCreery is an American country music singer. He won the season of American Idol on May 25,2011. His debut studio album, Clear as Day, was released in October 2011 and was certified platinum in the United States, the album includes the top 20 country songs, I Love You This Big and The Trouble with Girls. McCreery released a Christmas album, Christmas with Scotty McCreery, in October 2012 and he released his third album, See You Tonight, in October 2013. The first single from the album, also called See You Tonight, McCreery was born on October 9,1993, in Garner, North Carolina, the son of Judy and Michael McCreery. His parents originally planned on naming him Evan, but changed their minds as they were on their way to the hospital, McCreerys mother works as a real estate agent for Fonville Morisey. She also owns her own tanning salon in Clayton, North Carolina, McCreery has an older sister named Ashley, who attended UNC Charlotte. Around the age of five or six, McCreery received a book about Elvis from his grandmother and he began learning guitar when he was around nine or ten years old. McCreery attended Timber Drive Elementary School in Garner, West Lake Middle School in Apex and he participated in all three schools choruses, and he also sang at his middle school graduation. He sang tenor as a freshman in school, where he was named Rookie of the Year. In his sophomore year, he switched to singing bass and began singing in his church and he also starred in a school production of Bye Bye Birdie that year, playing the role of Conrad Birdie. McCreery went on to join an ensemble called Die Meistersingers that was formed by his high school chorus teacher, Meredith Clayton. In 2009, McCreery won a singing contest called Clayton Idol, after winning, he held several local shows with the radio station, raising money for sick children. Later the same year, he was one of finalists in a contest called Rip the Hallways. On the eve of Valentines Day,2010, McCreery performed in a variety show called Gift 4, in April of that year, he performed at the second annual Boots, Bands, and Bulls benefit concert. Funds from the concert went to Brittanys Battle, a Garner-based nonprofit that supports those affected by cancer, the concert was held in Raleigh, and country singer Jason Michael Carroll also performed. Growing up, McCreery attended First Baptist Church in Garner and he led the churchs youth praise band, Audience of One. In addition to his pursuits, McCreery was a member of his high school baseball team

34.
Phillip Phillips
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Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. is an American singer, songwriter and musician who won the eleventh season of American Idol on May 23,2012. His coronation song, Home, released after his win, became the best selling of all coronation songs and his debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19,2012. His second album, Behind the Light, was released on May 19,2014, Phillips was born in Albany, Georgia, to Sheryl and Phillip LaDon Donnie Phillips, Sr. and moved to Leesburg, Georgia when he was 12. He has two sisters, LaDonna, the eldest, and Lacey. Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School and he graduated from Albany Technical College with a major in Industrial Systems Technology, but missed the graduation ceremony due to his obligations to American Idol. Prior to appearing on American Idol, he worked at his familys pawn shop, Phillips started playing music, particularly the guitar, when he was 14. He was mentored by his friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin Neil. In 2009, he formed the Phillip Phillips Band with Neil and another brother-in-law, Todd Urick and he won a local singing competition, Albany Star, in 2010. Phillips favorite singer is Jonny Lang, and other favorites include John Butler, Dave Matthews and Damien Rice and he has described his music as jazz and rock alternative sound. Prior to trying out for American Idol, he auditioned on the second season of Americas Got Talent. He sang Superstition by Stevie Wonder, the judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jacksons Thriller. He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round, on February 23,2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13. His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, The Stone, in the competition. When asked about Phillips imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said, More power to him, I dont mind, after the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain, for his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Segers Weve Got Tonight. His coronation song, Home, was released after his performance, ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. After winning American Idol, Phillips went on the American Idol LIVE Tour from July to September with the rest of the Top 10 finishers of season 11 and he performed the National Anthem at the opening game of the 2012 World Series on October 24,2012. On November 15, he joined forces with the PS22 chorus of Staten Island for a concert to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy and he also performed at the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony on December 6,2012

35.
Candice Glover
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Candice Rickelle Glover is an American R&B singer and actress who won the twelfth season of American Idol. Glover is the first winner to have auditioned three times before being cast for the live shows and her debut album Music Speaks was released on February 18,2014. Glover was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, to John and she is the oldest of seven children. She graduated from Beaufort High School in 2008, before Idol, Candice was insecure and struggled with her weight. In an interview, she said she had to have counseling at school because of her insecurity issues and she attended St Helena Elementary and Ladys Island Middle School. Glover auditioned in Charlotte, North Carolina and she previously auditioned in the ninth and eleventh seasons. In the ninth season Simon Cowell said that he could not see Glover being anything more than a lounge singer and she was eliminated by producers during the ninth season when she forgot the lyrics to her song Chasing Pavements by Adele. She sang Blame It on Me by Chrisette Michele and she advanced, but her audition was not aired. In round one, she performed Karinas Slow Motion, in round three, she sang Someone like You by Adele, where she received a standing ovation from the judges. She performed It Doesnt Matter Anymore by Buddy Holly with eleventh season finalists DeAndre Brackensick, during her audition for the twelfth season, Glover sang Syrup & Honey by Duffy, where she received a standing ovation. Judge Randy Jackson said that she was the best performer by far in the competition, mariah Carey called her singing The best singing we have heard thus far. In an interview, she said, I thought they were going to get sick of seeing my face, for the first round in Hollywood, she sang Impossible by Christina Aguilera. For the second round, she performed Hit Em Up Style with Kamaria Ousley, Denise Jackson and this was named the best group the judges had seen all day. In round three, she put a jazzy twist on Alicia Keyss Girl on Fire and it was later announced that Glover was one of the top 20 girls of the season and she advanced to Las Vegas. In Vegas, she performed Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin, in the semi-finals of the competition, Glover performed Ordinary People by John Legend. On March 7,2013, she was voted into the Top 10 and her Top 10 performance of I by Ben E. King earned her enough votes to land among the night’s top three contestants, along with Kree Harrison and Angie Miller. After her Top 6 performances, Glover earned enough votes to land in the top two contestants, along with Kree Harrison. She covered Lovesong by The Cure and broke down in tears after receiving a standing ovation, Jackson commented that it was not only one of the best American Idol performances in its history, but very well may be the one of the best performances ever on any talent show

36.
Nick Fradiani
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Nicholas James Fradiani IV is an American singer from Guilford, Connecticut. He rose to attention as the lead singer of pop/rock band Beach Avenue when they won the Battle of the Bands at Mohegan Sun in 2011. They gained national recognition in 2014 when they competed on the season of the reality talent show Americas Got Talent. In 2015, Fradiani entered as a singer on the fourteenth season of American Idol. Fradiani won the show in May 2015, becoming the first winner from the Northeast region and he released an album, Hurricane, with Big Machine Label Group in August 2016. As of January 2017, he is working on a new album as an indie artist, Fradiani was born on November 15,1985, in New Haven, Connecticut. He is the son of Nick Fradiani III, a musician and he is of three quarters Italian and one quarter Irish descent. His father performs in clubs and restaurants, and on cruise ships and he gave his son a drum set when he was two years old, and encouraged him to learn to play piano and later guitar. Fradiani has a sister, Kristen, who was born a day before his birthday on November 14,1991. Kristen and their paternal cousins Jamie and Nicole attend Southern Connecticut State University and their paternal cousin, Dean Fradiani Jr. son of Nick Sr. s late brother Dean Fradiani Sr. is the owner of Fradiani Landscaping, LLC, in East Haven. Fradiani graduated from Guilford High School in 2004, Fradiani has a bachelors degree in history from Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts. He intermittently worked as a teacher at schools while mainly focusing on picking up gigs at local bars wherever he could. He also briefly held a job as a computer software salesman. Fradiani rose to attention as the lead singer of Milford. The five-member band released original materials including the Something to Believe In EP in June 2012, in 2014, they released two singles, Coming Your Way and Feel the Beat. Fradiani cites singing the song on the show as his biggest career break. The audition was aired on NBC in July 2014, and the song reached #53 on the iTunes Pop Singles Chart, All four judges voted yes for the band to go to the next round. The band made it to Judgement Week, broadcast on July 22 and 23, Coming Your Way remained in the Top 200 for over two weeks, selling more than 10,000 copies

37.
Harry Connick, Jr.
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Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. is an American singer, big band leader, talk show host and actor. He has sold over 28 million albums worldwide, Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 16 million in certified sales. He has had seven top 20 US albums, and ten number-one US jazz albums, Connicks best-selling album in the United States is his Christmas album When My Heart Finds Christmas. His highest-charting album is his release Only You, which reached No.5 in the US and he has won three Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards. He played Graces husband, Leo Markus, on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace from 2002 to 2006, Connick began his acting career as a tail gunner in the World War II film Memphis Belle. He played a killer in Copycat, before being cast as a fighter pilot in the blockbuster Independence Day. Connicks first role as a man was in Hope Floats with Sandra Bullock. His first thriller film since Copycat came in the film Basic with John Travolta, additionally, he played the violent ex-husband in Bug, before two romantic comedies, P. S. I Love You, and the man in New in Town with Renée Zellweger. In 2011, he appeared in the family film Dolphin Tale as Dr. Clay Haskett, Harry Connick Jr. was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. His mother, Anita Frances, was a lawyer and judge in New Orleans and, later and his father, Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Sr. was the district attorney of Orleans Parish from 1973 to 2003. His parents also owned a record store, Connicks father is a Catholic of Irish, English, and German ancestry. Connicks mother, who died from cancer, was Jewish. Connick has a sister, Suzanna, the siblings were raised in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans, Connick is a first cousin of both Jefferson Parish District Attorney, Paul Connick, and State Representative Patrick Connick. Connicks musical talents soon came to the fore when he started learning the keyboards at age three, playing publicly at age five, and recording with a jazz band at ten. The song was Im Just Wild About Harry and this was recorded for a Japanese documentary called Jazz Around the World. The clip was shown in a Bravo special, called Worlds of Harry Connick. His musical talents were developed at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and under the tutelage of Ellis Marsalis Jr. Connick attended Jesuit High School, Isidore Newman School, Lakeview School, and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, all in New Orleans

38.
Master of ceremonies
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A master of ceremonies, abbreviated M. C. also called compère and announcer, is the official host of a ceremony, a staged event or similar performance. The master of ceremonies sometimes also refers to the officer during an official state function. Today, the term often connotes a master of ceremonies who presents performers, speaks to the audience, entertains people, in addition, the term also exists in various chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The term originated in the Catholic Church, the Master of Ceremonies is an official of the Papal Court responsible for the proper and smooth conduct of the elegant and elaborate rituals involving the Pope and the sacred liturgy. He may also be an involved in the proper conduct of protocols and ceremonials involving the Roman Pontiff, the Papal Court. Examples of official liturgical books prescribing the rules and regulations of liturgical celebrations are Cæremoniale Romanum, the office of the Master of Ceremonies itself is very old. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the most ancient ceremonials and rituals of the Catholic Church are the Ordines Romani, names of Masters of Ceremonies are known since the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. However, copies of books prescribing the forms of rituals, rites and it is reasonable to assume that the ceremonials themselves pre-date Gelasius. However, documentary evidence from the late Roman period is scarce or lost, the ceremonies and practices of the Byzantine emperors are also known to have influenced the papal court. At a large Catholic church or cathedral, the Master of Ceremonies organizes and rehearses the proceedings and he may also have responsibility for the physical security of the place of worship during the liturgy. At major festivities such as Christmas and Easter, when the liturgies are long and complex, the current papal Master of Ceremonies is Monsignor Guido Marini, who succeeded Archbishop Piero Marini. Masters of Ceremonies at weddings and private events also ensure the coordination of their event, became an alternative title for a rapper and for their role within hip hop music and culture. The term is used as a term of distinction, referring to an artist with good performance skills. An MC focuses on skills, lyrical ability, and subject matter, in any comedy show, the compère is the host of the evenings events, but the precise role and responsibilities will vary depending on the country, venue and style of event. The compère will normally do longer bits at the start of the show and after any interval and they may also be required to make announcements, such as birthdays, anniversaries and bar promotions. In some circles the title Master of Ceremonies is also known as Minister of Ceremonies, in the 1940 Disney film, Fantasia, Deems Taylor is the films Master of Ceremonies. Media related to Master of ceremonies at Wikimedia Commons

39.
Billboard magazine
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Billboard is an American entertainment media brand owned by the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, a division of Eldridge Industries. It publishes pieces involving news, video, opinion, reviews, events and it is also known for its music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, tracking the most popular singles and albums in different genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows, Billboard was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegens interest in 1900 for $500, in the 1900s, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows. It also created a service for travelling entertainers. Billboard began focusing more on the industry as the jukebox, phonograph. Many topics it covered were spun-off into different magazines, including Amusement Business in 1961 to cover outdoor entertainment so that it could focus on music. After Donaldson died in 1925, Billboard was passed down to his children and Hennegans children, until it was sold to investors in 1985. The first issue of Billboard was published in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 1,1894 by William Donaldson, initially, it covered the advertising and bill posting industry and was called Billboard Advertising. At the time, billboards, posters and paper advertisements placed in public spaces were the means of advertising. Donaldson handled editorial and advertising, while Hennegan, who owned Hennegan Printing Co. managed magazine production, the first issues were just eight pages long. The paper had columns like The Bill Room Gossip and The Indefatigable, a department for agricultural fairs was established in 1896. The title was changed to The Billboard in 1897, after a brief departure over editorial differences, Donaldson purchased Hennegans interest in the business in 1900 for $500, to save it from bankruptcy. That May, Donaldson changed it from a monthly to a paper with a greater emphasis on breaking news. He improved editorial quality and opened new offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, London and he also re-focused the magazine on outdoor entertainment like fairs, carnivals, circuses, vaudeville and burlesque shows. A section devoted to circuses was introduced in 1900, followed by more prominent coverage of events in 1901. Billboard also covered topics including regulation, a lack of professionalism, economics and it had a stage gossip column covering the private lives of entertainers, a tent show section covering traveling shows and a sub-section called Freaks to order. According to The Seattle Times, Donaldson also published articles attacking censorship, praising productions exhibiting good taste

40.
Katharine McPhee
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Katharine Hope McPhee is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She gained fame in May 2006 as the runner-up on the season of American Idol. Her self-titled debut album was released on RCA Records on January 30,2007, the albums first single, Over It, was a Pop Top 30 hit and was certified gold in 2008. Her second album, Unbroken, was released on Verve Forecast Records on January 5,2010, the album featured the single Had It All, which peaked at No.22 on the AC chart. It has sold 45,000 copies as of January 2011 and her third album, the holiday-themed Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You, was released on October 12,2010. The album debuted at eleven on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart while the single Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard AC chart. As of January 2011, this album has sold 23,000 copies, McPhee released her fourth album, Hysteria, on September 18,2015. McPhee has also established a career, co-starring in The House Bunny. She has played Karen Cartwright, one of the roles on Smash. Since September 2014, she has starred in Scorpion as Paige Dineen, McPhee was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Daniel McPhee, is a television producer and her mother, Peisha McPhee, has been a vocal coach on American Idol since 2011. The family moved to the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles when she was 12 years old, Peisha McPhee recognized her daughters musical talent and decided to train her. McPhees older sister, Adriana, has been a coach on American Idol since 2012. McPhee is of Irish, Scottish, and German descent, McPhee attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, where she performed in school plays and musicals. She attended Boston Conservatory for three semesters, majoring in Musical Theatre and she left college before graduation on the advice of her manager and returned to Los Angeles to try out for television pilots. McPhee was cast in a mall-based MTV soap opera pilot, You Are Here, MTV never aired the pilot and did not pick up the series. In March 2005, McPhee starred as Annie Oakley in a Cabrillo Music Theater production of the musical Annie Get Your Gun, McPhee was nominated for a Los Angeles Stage Ovation Award in the category of Lead Actress in a Musical. McPhee had a role as Paramount Girl in the 2007 musical film Crazy

Reality competition
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It differs from documentary television in that the focus tends to be on drama, personal conflict, and entertainment rather than educating viewers. The genre has various standard tropes, including confessionals used by cast members to express their thoughts, an early example of the genre was the 1991 Dutch series Nummer 28, which was the first show

1.
Kim Kardashian, reality TV star.

2.
Lighting crews are typically present in the background of reality television shows.

3.
Sound crews are typically present in the background of reality television shows.

Ryan Seacrest
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Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host and producer. He is best known for hosting the talent competition show American Idol, as well as the countdown program American Top 40. He received Emmy Award nominations for American Idol, and won an Emmy for producing Jamie Olivers Food Revolution. Seacrest was born on December

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Ryan Seacrest, Carson, California on May 11, 2013

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Seacrest at 2008 Primetime Emmys at Nokia Plaza in Los Angeles

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Seacrest in September 2012

Paula Abdul
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Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, voice actress, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 before rising to prominence in the 1980s as a highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the video era. Abdul later scored a string of

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Abdul on the set of Live to Dance in 2011

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Abdul at the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards, 1990

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Abdul backstage at the The X Factor (U.S.) in 2011

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Abdul's own phonograph record star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Simon Cowell
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Simon Phillip Cowell is an English reality television judge and producer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Cowell is the founder and chief executive of the British entertainment company Syco. As a judge, Cowell often makes blunt and controversial comments, including insults and wisecracks about contestants and he combines activities in both the te

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Cowell arriving at The X Factor USA red carpet in December 2011.

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Cowell alongside Cheryl Cole as judges on The X Factor UK ‍ '​s seventh series on June 21, 2010

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One Direction signed to Cowell's record label after finishing third and being mentored by Cowell in 2010. The group are one of Cowell's international breakout acts.

Randy Jackson
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Randall Darius Randy Jackson is an American bassist, singer, record producer, entrepreneur and television personality. He is best known from his work as a judge on American Idol. Jackson has won a Grammy Award as a producer, Jackson was born on June 23,1956, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of Julia, a homemaker, and Herman Jackson, a plant forem

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Jackson in 2009

Kara DioGuardi
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Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, composer and TV personality. She writes music primarily in the pop rock genre, DioGuardi has worked with many popular artists, sales of albums on which her songs appear exceed 160 million worldwide. DioGuardi is a Grammy and Emmy-nominated wr

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DioGuardi in 2005

Jennifer Lopez
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Jennifer Lynn Lopez, also known as JLo, is an American singer, actress, dancer, fashion designer, author, and producer. Lopez gained her first high-profile job as a Fly Girl dancer on In Living Color in 1991 and she received her first leading role in the Selena biopic of the same name in 1997, a portrayal that earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

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Lopez at the 25th GLAAD Media Awards, April 2014

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Lopez in 2004

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Lopez performing during her Dance Again World Tour, June 2012.

Steven Tyler
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He is known as the Demon of Screamin due to his high screams and his wide vocal range. He is also known for his on-stage acrobatics, during his high-energy performances, Tyler usually dresses in bright, colorful outfits with his trademark scarves hanging from his microphone stand. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tyler had a drug and alcohol addi

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Tyler performing with Aerosmith in July 2012.

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Tyler performing alongside bandmates Joe Perry and Brad Whitford at an Aerosmith performance on the National Mall in 2003.

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Tyler performing "Dream On" on the piano at an Aerosmith concert in Chicago in June 2012.

Mariah Carey
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Mariah Carey is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. In 1990, Carey rose to fame with the release of Vision of Love from her eponymous debut album, the album produced four chart-topping singles in the US and began what would become a string of commercially successful albums which solidified the singer as Columbias highest s

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Carey performing on Good Morning America in May 2013

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Carey exiting the Shepherd's Bush Theatre after promoting her single "Vision of Love" on The Wogan Show, in 1990

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Carey at the Edwards Air Force Base during the making of the " I Still Believe " music video on December, 1998.

Nicki Minaj
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Onika Tanya Maraj, known professionally as Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-born American rapper, singer, songwriter and model. Born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago and raised in South Jamaica, Queens, New York and she has been signed to Young Money Entertainment since 2009. In 2010, Minaj became the first female solo artist to have seven singles

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Minaj at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles

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Minaj at the 2013 BET Awards.

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Minaj with Tyga on the Pink Friday: Reloaded Tour at The O2 Arena in London (October 30, 2012)

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Minaj is known for her costumes, cosmetics and wigs.

Keith Urban
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Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian-American country musician. In 1991, he released a debut album and charted four singles in Australia before moving to the United States the following year. He found work as a session guitarist before starting a band known as The Ranch, still signed to Capitol, Urban made his solo American debut in

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Urban playing bass guitar at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan on November 5, 2007

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Keith Urban in Sydney, Australia

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Urban with his wife Nicole Kidman at the 70th Golden Globe Awards in 2013

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Keith Urban in concert in 2007

Harry Connick Jr.
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Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. is an American singer, big band leader, talk show host and actor. He has sold over 28 million albums worldwide, Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 16 million in certified sales. He has had seven top 20 US albums, and

FremantleMedia
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FremantleMedia Group Limited is a British international television content and production/distribution subsidiary of Bertelsmanns RTL Group, Europes largest TV, radio, and production company. Its world headquarters are located in London, early on, it merged with Germanys largest television production company, UFA. The company holds the rights to su

1.
FremantleMedia Ltd.

19 Entertainment
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19 Entertainment is a producer of entertainment properties for television with a focus on music. 19 Entertainment is also responsible for the production of So You Think You Can Dance, founded in London, England in 1985,19 Entertainment moved their headquarters to Los Angeles, United States, in 2010. In 2009 the company announced the purchase of Lon

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19 Entertainment

Fox Broadcasting Company
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The Fox Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television network that is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. It is the third largest major network in the world based on total revenues, assets. Launched on October 9,1986 as a competitor to the Big Three television networks, Fox and its affiliated c

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Fox Broadcasting Company

NTSC
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The first NTSC standard was developed in 1941 and had no provision for color. In 1953 a second NTSC standard was adopted, which allowed for television broadcasting which was compatible with the existing stock of black-and-white receivers. NTSC was the first widely adopted broadcast color system and remained dominant until 1997, North America, parts

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Television encoding systems by nation; countries using the NTSC system are shown in green.

720p
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720p is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines and an aspect ratio of 16,9, normally known as widescreen HDTV. The number 720 stands for the 720 horizontal scan lines of display resolution. The p stands for progressive scan, i. e. non-interlaced, when broadcast at 60 frames per second, 720p features the highest temporal resoluti

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This chart shows the most common display resolutions, 720p being one of the 16:9 formats shown in dark green.

FremantleMedia North America
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FremantleMedia Group Limited is a British international television content and production/distribution subsidiary of Bertelsmanns RTL Group, Europes largest TV, radio, and production company. Its world headquarters are located in London, early on, it merged with Germanys largest television production company, UFA. The company holds the rights to su

1.
FremantleMedia Ltd.

American Broadcasting Company
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The network is headquartered on Columbus Avenue and West 66th Street in Manhattan, New York City. There are additional offices and production facilities elsewhere in New York City, as well as in Los Angeles and Burbank. Since 2007, when ABC Radio was sold to Citadel Broadcasting, ABC originally launched on October 12,1943, as a radio network, separ

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ABC's corporate headquarters are located at 77 West 66th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.

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American Broadcasting Company

3.
Edward Noble, founder of ABC

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In 2002, dancers and other cast members from the 32-year run of American Bandstand reunited with host Dick Clark to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show's local television debut.

Idols (TV series)
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Idols is a reality television-music competition format created by British television producer Simon Fuller and developed by FremantleMedia. The format began in 2001 with the British television series Pop Idol, an estimated 6.5 billion viewers around the world have watched variants of the show. Each season, the aims to find the most outstanding unsi

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Idols logo

Pop Idol
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Pop Idol is a British television music competition created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new pop singer in the UK based on viewer voting. Two series were broadcast—one in 2001–2002 and a second in 2003, Pop Idol was subsequently put on an indefinite hiatus after series judge Simon Cow

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Pop Idol

Television in the United States
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Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. The peak ownership percentage of households with at least one television set occurred during the 1996–97 season, individual broadcast television stations in the U. S. transmit on either VHF channels 2 through 13 or UHF channels 14 through 51. Over-the-air and subscription television ne

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Satellite TV receiver dishes.

2.
On Wheel of Fortune, three people compete against each other to win cash and physical prizes such as overseas trips.

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The cast of I Love Lucy (L-R): Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. I Love Lucy has spent over 50 years in reruns after it ended in 1957.

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American family watching TV, 1958.

Short message service
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Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of most telephone, World Wide Web, and mobile telephony systems. It uses standardized protocols to enable mobile phone devices to exchange short text messages. SMS, as used on modern handsets, originated from radio telegraphy in radio memo pagers that used standardized phone protocols and

1.
E.161, the most common mobile keypad alphabet layout

Kelly Clarkson
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Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in 2002 after winning the first season of American Idol, Clarksons debut single, A Moment Like This, topped the Billboard Hot 100 and became the best-selling single of 2002 in the U. S. It was followed with her studio album, Thankful, which debuted at number one on the Bi

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Clarkson at the 57th Presidential Inauguration, January 21, 2013

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Clarkson performed at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2002, following her win on American Idol

Ruben Studdard
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Christopher Ruben Studdard, is an American R&B, pop and gospel singer. He rose to fame as winner of the season of American Idol. In the years following Idol, Studdard has released six albums, including his platinum-selling debut, Soulful. He is most well known for his career, which has produced hits including Flying Without Wings, Sorry 2004, and C

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Studdard in The American Idol Experience motorcade at Walt Disney World.

Fantasia Barrino
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Fantasia Monique Taylor, known professionally by her mononym Fantasia, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the season of the reality television series American Idol in 2004. Following her victory, she released her single, I Believe. Subsequently, she released her album, Free Yourself, which went on

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Barrino in The American Idol Experience motorcade at Walt Disney World, in February 2009.

Carrie Underwood
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Carrie Marie Underwood is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the season of American Idol in 2005. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was released in 2005, Underwood won three Grammy Awards for the album, including Best New Artist. Released in 2007, her album, Carnival Ride, had one of the biggest ever opening

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Underwood in Times Square in May 2012

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Underwood performing at the World Arena in December 2006

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Underwood performing in Iraq, in December 2006

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Underwood performing during the Carnival Ride Tour, 2007

Taylor Hicks
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Taylor Reuben Hicks is an American singer who won the fifth season of American Idol. Upon winning Idol, he was signed to Arista Records, under which his self-titled major label debut was released on December 12,2006. His energetic stage performances and influences derived from rock, blues, and R&B music had earned him a following of devout fans. He

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Taylor Hicks in the American Idol motorcade at Walt Disney World

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Hicks played harmonica and guitar on every date of the American Idols LIVE! Tour.

Jordin Sparks
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Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the season of American Idol, at age 17. Her self-titled debut studio album, released later that year, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold two million copies worldwide. The song earned Sparks h

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Sparks performing at the USO Show at Camp Buehring in 2011

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Sparks performing at the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007

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Sparks during a concert in Kansas City

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Sparks in Badgley Mischka

David Cook (singer)
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David Roland Cook is an American rock singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of American Idol in 2008. Prior to Idol he released an independent album entitled Analog Heart and this was followed by his post-Idol major-label debut David Cook which was released on November 18,2008 and has since been certified platinum by

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Cook performing at Toad's Place, New Haven, Connecticut in September 2010

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Cook performing during the American Idols Live! Tour 2008.

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David Cook at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX, as part of the Declaration tour.

Kris Allen
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Kristopher Neil Kris Allen is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, he self-released a 2007 album entitled Brand New Shoes, Allens Idol coronation song, No Boundaries and his version of Heartless both charted within the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.

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Allen in New York City, June 2009

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Kris Allen on the American Idol Tour, August 5, 2009

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Kris Allen unplugged with Cale Mills, August 5, 2009

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Kris Allen at Yankee Stadium, New York City, on June 26, 2010

Lee DeWyze
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Leon James Lee DeWyze, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter from Mount Prospect, Illinois, and the winner of the ninth season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, DeWyze had a career and formed the Lee DeWyze Band. He had also released two independent albums called So Im Told in 2007 and Slumberland in 2010, both on WuLi Records and his first post-Idol

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DeWyze performing in June 2010.

Scotty McCreery
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Scott Cooke Scotty McCreery is an American country music singer. He won the season of American Idol on May 25,2011. His debut studio album, Clear as Day, was released in October 2011 and was certified platinum in the United States, the album includes the top 20 country songs, I Love You This Big and The Trouble with Girls. McCreery released a Chris

Phillip Phillips
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Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. is an American singer, songwriter and musician who won the eleventh season of American Idol on May 23,2012. His coronation song, Home, released after his win, became the best selling of all coronation songs and his debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19,2012. His second album, Behind t

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Phillips at the Walmart Soundcheck, December 2013

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Phillips at the American Idols Live! Tour in Seattle, July 2012

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Phillips performing in 2014

Candice Glover
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Candice Rickelle Glover is an American R&B singer and actress who won the twelfth season of American Idol. Glover is the first winner to have auditioned three times before being cast for the live shows and her debut album Music Speaks was released on February 18,2014. Glover was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, to John and she is the oldest of sev

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Candice Glover singing The Star-Spangled Banner at Citi Field in 2013

Nick Fradiani
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Nicholas James Fradiani IV is an American singer from Guilford, Connecticut. He rose to attention as the lead singer of pop/rock band Beach Avenue when they won the Battle of the Bands at Mohegan Sun in 2011. They gained national recognition in 2014 when they competed on the season of the reality talent show Americas Got Talent. In 2015, Fradiani e

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Nick Fradiani

Harry Connick, Jr.
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Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. is an American singer, big band leader, talk show host and actor. He has sold over 28 million albums worldwide, Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 16 million in certified sales. He has had seven top 20 US albums, and

Master of ceremonies
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A master of ceremonies, abbreviated M. C. also called compère and announcer, is the official host of a ceremony, a staged event or similar performance. The master of ceremonies sometimes also refers to the officer during an official state function. Today, the term often connotes a master of ceremonies who presents performers, speaks to the audience

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Sunny Chan, seen with local TVB artists, in the UK as guests compère for TVB-Europe's Happy Family Gala promo-event

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"Master of Ceremonies". from the book Persia by Frederic Shoberl, 1828

Billboard magazine
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Billboard is an American entertainment media brand owned by the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, a division of Eldridge Industries. It publishes pieces involving news, video, opinion, reviews, events and it is also known for its music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, tracking the most popular singles and albums in

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An 1896 issue of Billboard

2.
Billboard

Katharine McPhee
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Katharine Hope McPhee is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She gained fame in May 2006 as the runner-up on the season of American Idol. Her self-titled debut album was released on RCA Records on January 30,2007, the albums first single, Over It, was a Pop Top 30 hit and was certified gold in 2008. Her second album, Unbroken, was released